Counting Down Roses
by Geishaaa
Summary: Falling for her boss was bad enough, but falling for her boss who she had never met and didn't even know his real name? Disaster. (Correlating fic to LethanWolf's; written from Rangiku's POV). ! Past rape mentioned !
1. A Fresh Start

**GUESS WHO'S BACK (BACK AGAIN) (GEISHAAA'S BACK) (TELL A FRIEND)**

 **Ahem. Okay, just like 'Mind of an Ice Prince/Princess', this is another collaboration piece with LethanWolf but we've gone for a hitsumatsu pairing this time! I'm writing from Rangiku's POV and I really recommend you read both sides of each chapter to get the full story (every story has two sides, y'know?).**

 **STRONG RAPE WARNING! There is past rape mentioned throughout this chapter and in future chapters and while I won't be super explicit, I don't want to upset anyone. Please don't read this if it will make you feel uncomfortable.**

 **Enjoy!**

… **.**

Rangiku sat at her kitchen bench, laptop open and biting her nails – a disgusting habit she'd picked up as a preteen. It was something she did when she was nervous, like when she was twelve and her body had well and truly begun to develop which meant many old men used to stare at her and whistle as she walked by. They still did, of course, but at least she was mature enough to know how to handle it now.

She glanced around her messy shoebox apartment and sighed, biting more of her nail off and turning back to her computer. She tried not to think of why she had moved to this awful flat but it was constantly in the back of her mind, playing on repeat. In short, _never date your boss_. She had lost her once best friend and later boyfriend, her job, her fantastic salary (although it had never been as high as the men in her position) and as a result, she had to give up her beautiful apartment in the centre of Tokyo too. Gods, she had loved that place – warm, bright, with windows so large she felt like she could see the whole city. At night, the city lights were like millions of little stars – even in the middle of winter, she liked to sit on her balcony with a pot of hot tea or sometimes sake (okay, usually sake), and just… watch. She liked to take the whole world in.

That apartment was gone, though. She couldn't afford it now that she was unemployed, so she had moved to the edge of the city, in a rundown neighbourhood, in a rundown apartment block. She felt unsafe there at night, but a whole lot safer than she did at any place Gin could have found her. He'd never look for her here.

 _Gin._

Even his name scared her now. She hated it all – him, having to quit her job and move, but most importantly, she hated her fear. She hated being scared; it wasn't who she was.

Rangiku quickly shook it out of her mind. If she thought too much about it, she would probably cry and she was definitely not allowed to cry just moments before her big interview with her potential new boss, 'Hyorinmaru'. It was definitely a fake name, but the whole gaming industry knew that. Zeltrix's CEO was a mystery – the company had a number of PR representatives that faced the media but the head of company had never made an appearance. Even in the annual reports that she had read backwards and forwards several times in her career, no hints were given. He was only ever referred to as 'Mr Hyorinmaru', and for some reason, sometimes 'Captain Hyorinmaru'. Where Gin had always had a fully-fledged photo shoot with make-up and outfit changes for his annual report and website picture, the Zeltrix owner's picture was a merely hand-sketched dragon – usually a blue-green thing with red eyes, like the logo of the company. It had always made Rangiku smile though, even when she'd read the reports while being at Game Station – it just seemed to bring a bit of personality to the otherwise completely unknown man.

She smiled a little at the thought. Her smiles were few and far between these days but it made her feel better, even if only for a fleeting second. She really needed this job. Gin had spread the word around many of the other gaming companies to blacklist her in hopes she would come crawling back to him, desperate for a job and some form of wage. Zeltrix was her last chance – the one company Gin's words would never penetrate. It was his company's biggest rival after all.

She had gone through Isshin Shiba, her old neighbour when she still lived at home with her parents. They had kind of just lost contact over the years but she was so grateful he remembered her. She had babysat for him while she was in high school and university to make some extra money. His oldest child, Ichigo, was only a few years younger than her but was often out on school trips or at sleepovers so her job was to mainly look after the two younger girls. After they went to bed, she would study until Isshin came home. The man was high school teacher at the time and had been very impressed with her dedication to her studies.

Right on 4pm, her skype lit up with the incoming call. A blank picture told her more than she needed to know about her caller; Hyorinmaru – the man standing between her and last chance to get her career back on track.

She answered it, her 'hello' coming out more nervous than she would have liked.

She was greeted by a deep, smooth voice introducing himself as 'Mr Hyorinmaru' and asking for her name.

"Y-yes, Sir," damn her nervous stammer, "My name is Matsumoto, Rangiku Matsumoto."

She frowned – did she just introduce herself like James Bond?

"Alright, Matsumoto," Hyorinmaru continued, unfazed, "Why did you choose to work for us?"

His voice was so… well, for lack of a better term, _sexy_. It seemed intelligent, mature and experienced. Immediately a picture of an older gentlemen appeared in her mind. Tall, dark and handsome was the image, perhaps a bit of a silver fox. Maybe even like a George Clooney or an older Benedict Cumberbatch.

"Oh, well I have experience in this field," Rangiku stated quickly, "It's something I know that I'm good at and I enjoy. Did you… did you get my CV?"

She had been told by Isshin to email a copy to Ukitake who would pass it on to the boss. It wasn't her preferred method of applying for a job. She had charisma and good looks; any job was hers if she walked in to the office, fluttered her eyelashes and handed over a strawberry-scented CV (assuming no snake ex-boyfriends were black balling her). It was very daunting to be judged entirely from an electronic document stating her academic and career achievements and to be doing an interview over the phone. Her biggest weapons were out of ammunition and she was running straight into the line of fire.

Hyorinmaru gave a small hum of acknowledgement.

"Yes, I did," he murmured, sounding like he was glancing over it, "It's very impressive."

Rangiku sat up straighter on her stool, a moment of pride washing though her. It was impressive if she did say so herself, especially when people saw her in person. Everyone expected her to be a dumb blonde, skimping bikini wearing model but she wasn't. She was actually quite intelligent, completing a double master's degree in marketing and psychology at Tokyo University and developing some of the most successful marketing campaigns in the international gaming industry. She had spent more time in the office, wearing her glasses and a professional blazer than at the beach in a bikini.

"Why did you choose to leave Game Station?" Hyorinmaru continued with the interview, cutting straight to what Rangiku assumed was his biggest question.

"Oh," Rangiku hesitated – she'd been told to never bad mouth her old boss in an interview but she felt she needed to be honest in this situation, "I chose to leave because the CEO and I did not see eye to eye."

It was the most polite way she could have put it, to be honest, and much more polite than that bastard deserved, although she was sure some of her contempt slipped into her voice.

Hyorinmaru didn't push, moving on and asking about her day to day roles. Rangiku picked herself back up, excitedly explaining her duties at her old position. She really had loved her job. They say you never work a day in your life if you love your job and she certainly agreed. She loved putting together marketing campaigns, they honestly felt like her babies at times – she created them, raised them and sent them off into the real world. Rangiku lived for marketing – there was so much psychology behind it which she found entirely fascinating. She loved having the power to influence entire groups of people to buy her product with just a colour or one well-placed word.

"Oh believe me," the man chuckled at her story of a highly successful campaign of hers – a sound that made Rangiku smile once again, "I know all about those sales. That was a bad winter for us."

Ah, shit.

"Sorry," Rangiku apologised quickly, kicking herself. Hyorinmaru probably didn't want to hear about all the times her marketing campaigns had trumped his.

In her defence, Zeltrix's marketing had always been far behind, it was no wonder they were hiring.

"Don't be, it was impressive," Hyorinmaru's deep voice rumbled, "Forgive me for asking but it is my job…"

Rangiku kept her sigh silent and closed her eyes, knowing where this was going.

"What exactly did you not see eye to eye with Gin about?"

Rangiku flinched, the memory flashing through her. _Gin's hand was on her thigh, slipping further and further under her skirt, his other hand gripping her hip and forcing her down onto the desk, his lips brushing against her skin as they travelled up her neck, his tongue in her ear, "Tell me you want me, Ran-Chan…"_

Opening her eyes to stare at the laptop screen, a blank image of her interviewer sat waiting patiently. She swallowed back the water in her eyes.

"We were dating," she answered evenly, "We broke up and the break up was… difficult."

She took a breath, "I want nothing more than to be far away from him."

Hence moving to the shittiest part of town where he would never even think to look for her. After all, he never saw her as much more than a princess Barbie doll with the occasional good idea.

"Well," Hyorinmaru said almost decisively a moment later, "That shouldn't be an issue anymore, from today onwards you will be working directly under myself as director of marketing."

Rangiku blinked, jaw dropping and jumping to her feet. Did he just give her a job?

"Oh thank you!" she squealed before she could stop herself. She began to dance in front her laptop, so glad the camera was turned off. This was the best news she'd had in months! She could finally get back to work. She could move! She could even go get her god damn acrylic nails put back on so she'd stop biting her real ones. This was amazing!

Eventually she realised she'd been silently partying for a moment too long and quickly cleared her throat, willing Mr Hyorinmaru to continue.

"You're welcome," Hyorinmaru said, "For the time being most of your work will come from Ukitake but I'll check in from time to time and may chat with you myself."

"Of course," Rangiku agreed hurriedly, overwhelmed with happiness at her second chance in the industry.

"For just now though I must go, I have another call starting," Hyorinmaru informed her, "I hope you have a good evening, welcome to Zeltrix."

Her new boss' final words seemed to echo around the small apartment before the disconnected call sound followed.

Later that evening, after she'd spent nearly two hours on the phone thanking Isshin over and over and practically promising to give him her first born child as a gift - she could never really repay him for what he'd done for her, recommending her to the head of Zeltrix despite her strong connections to their ultimate rival, Ukitake had sent her an email, congratulating her and welcoming her to the team. Attached was her brand new contract and Rangiku had almost fainted when she saw her new salary, which was almost twice her previous wage. Isshin had told her later (when she had called for the third time that evening to thank him) that Zeltrix paid by value to the team, not by gender like Game Station. Apparently her higher wage was currently the result of her experience and qualifications, and she also had the potential to receive a raise for worthy contributions to the business.

…

Rangiku's first day was the very next day and she was thrown straight into the deep end.

Firstly, she was very thankful that she had kept her old suits. She had almost considered selling them for some extra cash but her friend, Nanao, had talked her out of it, telling her she'd be employed again in no time and she'd regret getting rid of them. Luckily, Nanao was usually right about those sorts of things.

Secondly, her nails looked fantastic. She had gone straight to the nail parlour to get them fixed up. The attendant had told her off for biting them again, of course, but re-applied the acrylic set anyway. Rangiku had gotten them painted teal for the occasion – her new favourite colour – to match the Zeltrix's logo.

And thirdly, whoever was doing her job at Zeltrix before her was truly terrible at it. The desk was an absolutely mess, every marketing plan over the last five years was incomplete and inconsistent from the previous years and every person she was introduced to on day one greeted her with a great sigh of relief and the occasional "thank god, someone who knows what they're doing."

"You've certainly got your work cut out for you," Isshin murmured to her as he helped her clear the mess from her new desk, "The last marketing director was not very... ah, experienced or enthusiastic about her job. She left several months ago and since then it's been a shared role amongst a number of executives but none of them have a marketing background, so it's been rather difficult."

Isshin had been showing her around all morning, adding to the millions of reasons why she was so grateful to have the man back in her life. She had been so excited to reunite with him and Ichigo, who was no longer the surly teen who never came out of his bedroom but now a bright and sociable young man – engaged too, to Renji from Zeltrix's accounting department.

"Who was she?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow, _'and how did she even get this job?_ ' The second bit was kept silent, however.

"Her name was Momo," Isshin answered, lowering his voice, "She's actually a cousin of one of our executives."

"Wait, Momo… Hinamori?" Rangiku gaped, "She works at Game Station now!"

In the background, a muttering broke out from the staff that had overheard her admittedly loud exclamation. She was surprised so many swear words could be used in one sentence.

Momo had joined the Game Station team only a few months ago, working as the CFO, Aizen's personal assistant. She seemed nice, but a bit of an airhead with an almost obsessive attachment to her boss/apparent boyfriend.

Isshin nodded solemnly, "It was a big blow for the team. She promised she'd never reveal any secrets, but I don't think anyone really trusts her."

Rangiku nodded thoughtfully, "She did mention her cousin worked for Zeltrix but she didn't say anything else as far as I'm aware. Gin and Aizen would nag her for hours about it though."

Isshin hummed disapprovingly, "Let's just hope she stays quiet."

By lunchtime, Rangiku began to feel more settled in her new role. Isshin had returned back to his office eventually, but not until he had introduced her to absolutely everyone and helped her get set up in her own office. Rangiku was beginning to feel very comfortable; everyone who worked there were incredibly welcoming, almost all of them saying "welcome to the family." It was a smaller company than Game Station but it was clear the staff were very close and Rangiku felt instantly at home.

She met the other members of the marketing team who would all be working under her. They were all quite young with brilliant and refreshing ideas but a lack of experience to pull it together without a strong leader. Ichigo, whose hair was still as bright as she remembered it, was to be her second in charge and he was going to be such an asset to her team, she was unbelievably excited to get to work. She even had an intern who was going to help her out one day a week as a part of a university requirement. She remembered her own internship and was more than happy to take him under her wing.

The first day had been a blur of new faces and new information that was all very overwhelming to take in, but by clock off time, she had already pulled together the beginnings of a brand new marketing campaign. It was still a loose string of ideas and concepts but she knew she could probably get a complete plan written by the end of the week. Ichigo was impressed with how quickly she'd pulled it together but it felt like second nature to her – Zeltrix was going to hit social media hard and she was going to use humour to do it. Social Media was no longer the future of marketing but the present, especially given the target age group for their gaming products. Game Station still used her old campaign but it was beginning to age now – a few months on social media might as well be a few years. Zeltrix could overtake in no time, provided Gin didn't find a good replacement for her soon.

At the end of the day, Isshin met her and Ichigo in her office and they walked out together, the two Shiba men inviting her to dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant which apparently was a favourite of theirs and they would often have group dinners with the Zeltrix team there.

"Oh they have Katsudon here," Rangiku grinned at the menu, "I haven't had a pork cutlet bowl in ages,"

Largely because she hadn't been able to afford to eat out since quitting from Game Station and she wasn't a great cook either.

"Hmm, that's Hyorinmaru's favourite," Isshin murmured, "Gets it every time."

"And still the little prick never gains weight," Ichigo muttered sarcastically, noticeably sucking in his stomach and sighing at the salad options, "Gods, I miss carbs."

According to Isshin, Ichigo was on a strict diet for his upcoming wedding.

"Hey if you guys know Hyorinmaru personally, and so does Ukitake and all those other executives…" Rangiku started, "Does that mean I will get to meet him? I'm his marketing executive, right?"

Isshin seemed to hesitate, "You might get to meet him one day… but you'll need to earn a high level of trust from him first. We've known him since he was a kid, Ichigo went to the same school as him and I taught them both. He doesn't give trust away easily."

"But why does he hide?" Rangiku asked, a little deflated, "Gin used to say it's because he's secretly a lizard."

Ichigo barked with laughter, "That's not far from the truth, actually."

Isshin nudged his son in the ribs, "That's ridiculous, he's not a lizard. Hyorinmaru is just… a private person. He wants the world to see him for what he can do not what he looks like."

"Why?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow, "What does he look like?"

Looking entirely like he'd said too much, Isshin tried to back pedal quickly, "Well I didn't mean that he looks weird or anything, I just mean that he's just… well, shy, I guess."

"Shy?" Rangiku repeated, not believing it. Suddenly she was picturing anyone but an older Benedict Cumberbatch. Maybe Hyorinmaru was strange looking? Maybe he had grey scale like Shireen in Game of Thrones? Maybe he was a dwarf like Tyrion in Game of Thrones? Maybe he was a eunuch like – alright she had gone overboard with the Game of Thrones references, but maybe she wasn't completely wrong.

Maybe he was burnt or disabled or something?

Maybe he was actually a woman? It would explain the salary system being based on merit not gender and the _'he wants to be seen for what he can do not what he looks like'_ thing, but it did not explain the sexy deep voice.

…

"Hyorinmaru is going to love this," Ichigo breathed, reading through her draft plan, "If this is what you can do in a week, I can't wait to see what else you can do."

She had been at her new job exactly one week now and had pulled together a full draft of her social media marketing strategy. She just needed to get approval to go ahead with it and then she would be launching her first campaign for Zeltrix. She almost wished she could see the look on Gin's smug face when he realised where she had found work.

Rangiku's cheeks heated a little, "Thanks, Ichigo. I really hope the boss does like it, I really need this job to work out."

Ichigo smiled sympathetically before nodding back to the document, "You should send it to him and Rukia. I think they both have the day off today but Hyorinmaru never really stops, he'll definitely have a read through it."

"Who's Rukia?" Rangiku asked, not sure she was ever introduced to her.

"His assistant, basically," Ichigo smirked, "She's also a midget but don't tell her I said either of those things. She's in charge of PR."

Rangiku nodded, turning back to her screen, "I think I'll stay a bit longer and just tidy up this draft a little."

If she was bring honest, she didn't really want to go back to her small, dirty apartment just yet.

"No problem," Ichigo said, walking over to his desk and pick up his satchel, "We've got 24 hour security so you don't need to worry about locking up and a few people tend to stay back a while anyway. Don't work yourself too hard, Newbie."

Rangiku rolled her eyes at the cheeky strawberry's nickname for her. She was glad she could feel comfortable around her new colleagues and vice versa.

Ichigo chuckled before slipping out of the office and calling after his father whose office was at the other end of the corridor. Rangiku returned her focus to marketing brief and continued her work.

It wasn't until almost 7.30pm that Rangiku realised how late it was and that everyone else had already left. She sighed, saving the document again. Her eyes were getting irritated from staring at the screen for so long and her contacts weren't helping. She popped them out and switched to her glasses.

A little nervous about handing in her first piece of work, Rangiku attached the document to an email, searched for Rukia's address in the contact list and sent it off. Almost immediately an automatic reply from Rukia's email appeared in Rangiku's inbox citing that the PR manager would be out of office for the next few days.

Rangiku hesitated; she didn't know if Rukia accessed her emails while she was out of office and she didn't want to get in trouble in her first week for not getting her work approved. After a brief moment of deliberation, the strawberry blonde pulled up her new business skype account and located Hyorinmaru's contact details.

There was no harm in sending it to him was there? Worst case scenario, he gets a little mad she troubled him with her work when it's supposed to go through Rukia or Ukitake first? But surely he'd cut her some slack on her first week if she explained her dilemma? She'd only heard his voice, but it was a voice that seemed kind and fair. She decided to do it, quickly attaching the brief and typing a quick explanation and sent it off before she could hesitate again.

Not expecting him to reply that evening at all, Rangiku got her bag together and had her cursor hovering over the sleep button when suddenly a ding sounded, alerting her to a new skype message. Bringing back up the program, she saw that she had a new message from none other than her new boss.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 19:24pm**

 **I will have a look when I next get to my laptop.**

Rangiku smiled at the message; it was incredibly unemotional but she didn't seem to be in any trouble. She decided to have another quick read through her draft, trying to read it from Hyorinmaru's perspective when another message popped up on her screen.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 19:27pm**

 **I appreciate the long working hours, make sure you don't stay in the office too long though. If I'm due you overtime or TOIL let me know.**

Rangiku blinked; she'd never been offered overtime before. She knew it was legally required but she always had to chase it up at Game Station. Gin tried to hold on to every penny he could, which was awfully frustrating when she clocked almost sixty hours a week in the lead up to the release of a new campaign.

 **Matsumoto 19:28pm**

 **I appreciate that Sir, I just lost track of time. Totally my fault but I hope you'll appreciate the end result :)**

She had thrown the smiley face in automatically and without thinking. She was the queen of emoticons when she messaged her friends but for a second then, she forgot that was talking to her new employer.

'Oh well,' she shrugged to herself, the mysterious man (or woman, if her other theory was correct) could use a little humour.

The strawberry blonde got her items together again, stood from her chair and shrugged back on her coat. She found herself hoping he would reply and then, a few minutes later, he did.

 **My Hyorinmaru 19:32pm**

 **I am sure I will.**

' _I hope so,'_ Rangiku thought before putting the computer to sleep and exiting her office.

…

The next morning Rangiku was not surprised to have not received any messages from her new boss about the proposal, she had sent it to him after hours and it wasn't likely he'd had a chance to read it before heading into the office or wherever it was that he worked. However, shortly after 10am, she noticed his skype was active. She decided to follow through on it.

 **Matsumoto 10:10am**

 **Did you get a chance to look over the marketing proposal? :)**

She added another smiley because she figured if she didn't get told off for the first one, she was probably okay to send another.

Her boss took a while to reply and she worried she might have interrupted him during an important call but eventually he got back to her.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:23am**

 **Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I've been busy. Just looked at it now, it looks really good.**

 **I see the angle you're taking and with social media the way it is just now I trust it will work.**

Rangiku actually squealed that time, causing Ichigo to poke his head into her office, eyebrow raised.

"He liked it!" she gushed, beaming at her colleague over her screen, "He likes the social media idea."

"I told you!" Ichigo's smile widened, "He's got that quirky sense of humour too so he would have found a lot of it funny."

"Drinks on me tonight?" Rangiku grinned, "You can bring Renji!"

Her first pay day was yesterday and to see a decent figure in her bank account for the first time in months was very exciting.

"I'm on a diet," Ichigo reminded her with a playful glare.

"So?" Rangiku rolled her eyes, "I'll buy you a low carb beer."

"Fine," Ichigo sighed dramatically, "But only because it's your shout."

"And because we're celebrating," Rangiku added, "We've got approval on our first proposal."

"That too," agreed Ichigo before slipping back out of the room.

"Invite the rest of our team," Rangiku called after him, "They all deserve to celebrate."

"Okay, Newbie," was the muffled response.

Rangiku giggled; her and Ichigo were becoming very fast friends. He'd always been such a moody teenager when she had been his babysitter but he'd really brightened up since maturing.

Focusing back on her work, Rangiku typed her reply.

 **Matsumoto 10:25am**

 **Thank you! :)**

 **We've been working on a timeline for release and strategy as well as risks associated. Do you have time to look over this too?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:25am**

 **At the moment I don't I actually am about to go back to bed, however send them on I will look them over in the morning.**

The reply was almost instant and Rangiku could only blink at it dumbly.

Go back to bed? It was 10am! Was he up really late the night before? Was he sick? Or was he just someone who preferred a lie in? She supposed he was the mystery CEO of a major gaming brand, he could probably do what he damn liked.

 **Matsumoto 10:26am**

 **Bed? D:**  
 **How long were you up last night?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:29am**

 **I'm in Moscow, it's almost half four in the morning here.**

'Moscow?' Rangiku gaped at the screen. Since when?! Was he always there, like from the time he'd interviewed her? Did the executives know he was overseas? Nobody had mentioned it to her.

And what on Earth was the man doing up at half past four in the morning?! That was just insanity that was. Rangiku was a big sleeper that was for sure, she loved sleeping in on weekends. There was nothing better than lying in bed and taking the time to wake up slowly. It was even better if she had someone next to her, someone she loved.

 **Matsumoto 10:30am**

 **Oh wow, Sir you should really get to sleep, I'll stop chattering on. I'll send you those documents and then you can just send on your thoughts when you can.**

Her fingers offered over the keyboard, very much wanting to type a second message. In truth, while she did want him to get a decent sleep in and didn't want to be the person stopping him from that, she did want to continue their conversation. It was almost personal now that it had veered away from business talk. She felt like she was starting to talk to the man not the CEO.

In the end, her fingers couldn't help themselves. Call it muscle memory or an unconscious instinct but she sent another message anyway, leaving it up to him whether he wanted to reply or not. He was a grown man ( _'or woman'_ she reminded herself) and therefore could make his own decisions and put himself to bed if that's what he needed.

 **Matsumoto 10:32am**

 **I've never been to Moscow before.**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:32am**

 **It's a beautiful city, a little conservative like Japan compared to the rest of the world though.**

 **Matsumoto 10:33am**

 **:o Where else in the world have you been?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:36am**

 **I've been almost everywhere; France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Thailand, Russia, Israel, Japan, Morocco, Africa, Greenland, America, Canada, Britain, Ireland… in fact I think it would be easier to give you a list of countries I haven't been haha.**

He'd added a 'haha'! Of course, she usually only did two 'ha's if she was being sarcastic and closer to five or six if she was actually finding something funny, but men weren't like that in most cases; a two 'ha'ed 'haha' was usually pretty genuine from them, she found.

She was surprised he was still humouring her but she loved it. Very slowly, he was becoming more of an image in her head. She saw him in her mind, standing at the large windows at the airport, observing the baggage handlers as they loaded suitcase after suitcase onto his next flight. A man – tall, dark hair, broad shoulders – wearing an expensive suit and checking his Armani wrist watch, a small sized suitcase as his hand luggage patiently waiting by his side.

A well-travelled business man; he'd truly been everywhere. She wondered briefly why he needed to travel so much if he never met clients in person, but figured it was rude to ask. Maybe he just liked to travel and was able to do it considering his apparent ability to work remotely. Perhaps he was in the field, researching gaming trends around the world first hand.

 **Matsumoto 10:38am**

 **That's so impressive! I've only ever been out of Japan a handful of times. Gin never thought I was important enough to send travelling but funnily enough he'd send a lot of the male members of the marketing team.**

She couldn't help the stab at Gin. She was pretty bitter about that, however. Her former boss – and boyfriend – would never let her go on the business trips with the other marketing team members, citing that she was 'too important to leave the office right now.' It was bullshit and everyone knew it. He was sexist as anything, which was the main reason for many of their arguments and the reason why she had broken up with him in the end. Gin also liked to keep her close; he was possessive and could measure his trust for her with a teaspoon, fully believing she'd actually cheat on him if he let her out of his sight for even a minute, let alone a week spent in another country.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:41am**

 **That won't be an issue with me. I'll have you attend any event I see fit regardless of the country assuming you're okay to travel there.**

She knew what he meant by the last part of the sentence. A year ago she probably would have been offended; she was a big girl, she could take care herself, she was smart – but after what had happened with Gin… well, she didn't exactly want to be in any situation like that again… or any situation that reminded her of that situation. She wasn't exactly… _okay_ yet, no matter what she tried to tell herself otherwise.

Shaking it off, and projecting her normal happy self, she replied again.

 **Matsumoto 10:42am**

 **I appreciate that Sir :D**

 **Weren't you going to go to bed? I'm sorry if I've kept you up…**

She didn't want to keep him up, especially since it was almost 5am his time (she had added Moscow to her world clock so she could be more considerate of his sleeping pattern next time she messaged him), and she also didn't want him to think she had spent the last twenty minutes slacking off on his time (even though she'd barely touched her work since they had picked up this little conversation).

He seemed to take forever to respond. As the minutes went by, she had almost given up, assuming he'd fallen asleep on her. Who could blame him though? It was bloody 5am. Eventually, however, she got her reply:

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:50am**

 **You didn't keep me up don't worry. I will look at the timeline and risks in the morning and get back to you, good night Matsumoto.**

Rangiku smiled, closing the Skype tab. She gave him several minutes to shut down his computer and get into bed before she sent in the risks and timeline documents, hoping that he wouldn't hear a notification sound as he tried to get back to sleep. She just wanted it to be there for him in the morning so he could read it at his own pace, depending on what he had on that day.

She leaned back in her chair and smiled softly. She did hold out hope that she might be able to have another phone call with him soon; she wanted to hear that smooth voice again. It had been so deep and even soothing, like his voice alone could tame a vicious ocean storm.

…

"Here's to Rangiku's first week," Ichigo toasting, raising his glass of (extra low carb) beer, "And to the first of many successful proposals."

"Here, here," Renji cheered as group clinked their classes together.

"You guys are so sweet," Rangiku giggled, taking another sip of her wine.

As promised, she had taken her new team out for drinks. Everyone had come except the intern who was only nineteen and therefore not legally able to drink at the bar with them. Renji had joined them too, just as she had told Ichigo he could. Even though he was in another department, the tall and burly red head was good friends with many of her new team members. From what she gathered, the company was so close that there were lots of friendships across departments. This was another significant difference of Zeltrix to Game Station, where friendships mostly remained within the boundaries of someone's own department, and in fact, departments were often so competitive with each other for budget and resource allocations, there was actually a lot of hate between them.

It was beginning to get late now, and many members of her team had left to get home to their families. Ichigo and Renji were still with her and one or two other colleagues were still there but had drifted to the other end of the bar to play on the old arcade machines lining the back wall.

"So have you chosen a song for the first dance yet?" Rangiku asked.

Somehow, with only knowing them a week, she had scored an invitation to their wedding next April. She was so excited, almost everyone from work was going and it was a hot topic around the office. They were already taking bets on who would be the best dressed, worst dressed, most likely to dance on a table, most likely to drink too much, most likely to pack it in early, and so on and so forth. Rangiku also secretly hoped Hyorinmaru would make an appearance as he knew Ichigo personally. Even if he came in without announcing himself as the boss, she would happily talk to every single person at the wedding to find that familiar voice.

"We're having the band cover 'Is This Love' by Bob Marley," Ichigo answered, "But slowing it down a bit."

"I'm going to get dreadlocks in my hair to be extra reggae," Renji chimed in, earning himself a punch in the gut for his efforts.

"You are not," Ichigo said sternly, "You'll have neat braids instead."

"Sure, Honey," Renji smirked, an evil glint in his eyes.

Rangiku laughed; she could see him turning up with dreadlocks and Ichigo losing it over them. They were the weirdest couple she'd ever known; they were alike in many ways but in the ways that often clashed. They were both dominant, stubborn and loud, Rangiku could only imagine the ferocity of any arguments they might ever have. Still though, as she watched Renji hook a finger under Ichigo's chin and draw him in for a quick kiss, smiles on both of their faces, she couldn't help but marvel at how perfect they were together. They seemed to just get each other.

"Alright, next round's on me," Renji announced, getting up from his seat, "Same again?"

Rangiku nodded while Ichigo had asked for a soda water instead, a request which he was promptly denied.

"Bastard," Ichigo muttered under his breath before turning back to Rangiku, "So you're liking Zeltrix then? Better than Game Station? The correct answer is yes, by the way."

"So much better," Rangiku agreed quickly, nodding enthusiastically, "Everything is better here."

"How long were you at Game Station for?" Ichigo laughed, "Got any secrets you could spill?"

"I was there for almost four years," Rangiku replied, "No secrets that would help Zeltrix, unfortunately. Zeltrix is definitely the stronger company, the only problem is they've never been able to utilise their marketing strengths before, so they lose a huge chunk of the market in sales."

"Marketing really can make or break a company sometimes," Ichigo agreed, "With you on board, we'll overtake them in no time."

"Guaranteed," Rangiku laughed, "We've got a really strong team."

"If you hated it so much, why did you stay for four years?" asked the strawberry.

Rangiku's face fell a little, "Well I didn't hate it, not in the beginning. Things just… changed. People changed. I quit because I felt like I couldn't go back there after… well, things changed."

Ichigo looked at her questioningly, "What do you mean?"

Rangiku grimaced into her wine; how was she going to explain it without giving much away? She hated talking about why she had left. She couldn't even bring herself to think it through let alone talk about it out loud, with people actually listening.

"I was close with the CEO, Gin," Rangiku sighed, looking away, "Dating, actually… but things didn't work out between us. Things really didn't work out, and he didn't take it very well when I broke it off."

Ichigo stared at her with a concerned expression, before leaning in and speaking softly.

"Did he hurt you? Physically, I mean."

 _Yes._

"No," Rangiku lied, "But I couldn't work there anymore."

Ichigo looked as if he was about to say something else but before he could, Renji was back and placing drinks in front of them, muttering about the 'disgusting' price of a rum and coke.

"What did I miss?" the redhead asked, sitting down with a huff.

"Ichigo was telling me all about his sexual fantasies," Rangiku grinned slyly, winking at his direction.

"Oh, that Black Widow thing again?" Renji asked seriously, "I told you, Babe, I might have Scarlett Johansson's hair colour but I'm not going to fit into that little leather costume you bought me."

Ichigo flushed bright red and Rangiku burst out laughing, so glad she had these two idiots in her life now. They pushed the bad thoughts right out of her mind.

…

That night, Rangiku jolted awake, eyes wide and gasping for air.

She could still hear his voice, his laughter as he held her down.

She could still feel his hands on her, his tongue forcing itself in her mouth.

She could still see him when she closed her eyes.

A sob ripped from her throat and her handed fisted her shirt tightly, just over her heart.

It all hurt. Physically, mentally, her whole being was in pain.

She was repulsed even by the idea of his touch, and yet never had she wanted someone to hold her as she did in that moment. She needed love; to love and to be loved. It didn't have to be romantic. She wished she could call up her parents, she really wished she could just crawl into their bed between them as she had as a child having night terrors, but she could not let them see her this way. She could not let them know what he had done to her.

She was too proud.

She was too ashamed.

Gods, she hated herself.

She hated her looks – all tits and ass and no brains. Sure, she was intelligent on paper and she was good at her job, but she wasn't smart. If she was smart, she would have never gotten involved with Gin in the first place. If she had been smart, she would have applied for a job at Zeltrix years ago. She was just a body, just as most people perceived her.

Maybe that was the alcohol talking, but maybe it was also the truth.

She picked up the nearest pillow and held it to her face, her tears rapidly soaking through the thin fabric of her pillowcase. She should have taken up Ichigo and Renji's offer to stay at their place as they lived only a block away from the bar, but even after their celebratory drinks, Rangiku had considered herself sober enough to get home okay. She had been sober enough, that was true, but she would have given anything for their company right now.

She couldn't understand why she was so happy during the day and such a mess a night. She had a good group of friends, both old and new (even though she couldn't tell them about her darkest moments), and she a great new job and boss. Her life was coming back together beautifully in the daylight, and yet every night she woke up like this.

A sobbing emotional wreck with nothing but the snake-like hiss of her former employer in her ear.

Rangiku reached across to her night stand, pulling the phone from its charger. The device hovered in her hand but her finger was still over the skype app button. She knew who she wanted to call but she had no idea why she'd automatically picked him.

They'd had exactly two full conversations. One was a job interview, the other was half-business, half emoticons and two 'ha'ed 'haha's.

She shook her head and threw her phone to the other side of the bed. It was a stupid thought; it would be incredibly inappropriate to trouble him with such a personal issue, not to mention outrageous that she would turn to him after knowing him for a week without even having met him in person or knowing his real name or image.

The blonde wiped her eyes and nose with her long sleeves and laid back down, curling around a pillow. She pulled her multitudes of blankets up over her head (since her new apartment hadn't come with heating), and stared into the darkness, afraid to close her eyes and see Gin again.

Her new boss wasn't to be the only one up at 4am this time.

…

 **Please review and let us know your thoughts!**


	2. Another Night, Another Nightmare

Rangiku woke just before her 7am alarm when her phone dinged with a new incoming message. Without looking she knew exactly who it was; Hyorinmaru. It had been over three months since she had been offered the job at Zeltrix and she had met (through Skype) her new boss/the man who now messaged her daily.

Rolling over, Rangiku plucked her phone from its charger and pushed her messy bed hair off her face so that she could read the Skype text.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 06:57am**

 **As requested, this is your pre-alarm reminder to get up.**

Rangiku smiled; she had been late to work last week as she had accidently turned off her alarm instead of tapping on the 'snooze' button and then proceeded to fall back asleep – She had sent a ridiculous amount of apology messages to Hyorinmaru only to find out that the bastard found her worrying amusing, sarcastically offering to send her reminder messages, which he now did every single morning.

She rolled her eyes and laid back down, bringing her phone with her. Her alarm sounded but this time she turned it off on purpose, feeling very awake following the captain's message (she had found out about the nickname given to the higher ups and absolutely adored the concept. She was going to call him 'Captain' every day for the rest of her life).

Her phone sounded again, vibrating gently in her hand.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 07:01am**

 **Post-alarm reminder: Get up, Matsumoto.**

 **Matsumoto 07:01am**

 **Thank you, Captain :) I am awake!**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 07:02am**

 **Again, you don't have to call me 'Captain', however you do have to be at the departmental meeting this morning so you may want to consider actually getting out of bed.**

 **Matsumoto 07:03am**

 **Aye aye, Captain ;)**

Rangiku grinned and gladly jumped out of bed. That morning at work, all the departments were having their biannual meeting. It was her first one and she was excited to finally meet Hyorinmaru in person as he was to be leading the meeting – apparently he never missed the big company gatherings. She wondered what he would be like in person and whether they would be able to talk like they did over Skype in real life.

Over the last three months, the relationship between her and Hyorinmaru had… _evolved_ , in a way. Since that first conversation they'd had about his business travels, their conversations had become more frequent, longer and less about work – in fact, they were pretty personal now. She still had no idea what he looked like and what his real name was but she knew his favourite movie (Toy Story – adorable), colour (deep green) and chocolate (white). She even knew he had a favourite flower – the rose, how romantic. She knew he was raised by his stern grandmother who he absolutely worshipped, and that he still wasn't completely over her death (he didn't say that but Rangiku could tell). She could also confidently walk into any Starbucks or equivalent and order his preferred beverage; she had tried the white chocolate mocha on his request and while she preferred her caffeine dose to be direct and straight to the point (AKA espresso), she hadn't hated the sweet drink. She had gotten to know his dry and somewhat dark sense of humour and his apparent taste for watching crime documentaries.

She had heard all about his friend Yukio; a blond playboy so charming he could get even the straightest man, or least-straightest woman, to waver. Yukio was protective of his friends but also pretty oblivious, it seemed. Hyorinmaru had also told her about Rukia: a smart and funny young woman who was easily wound up and had a major thing for Yukio, who remained ignorant to Rukia's feelings. Rangiku had pointed out that it was almost a Harry Potter situation, where Hyorinmaru was Harry, stuck in the middle of Ron (Yukio) and Hermione (Rukia) while they bickered instead of actually facing their feelings. Her boss had even asked her for advice on the matter! Rangiku had dealt with her fair share of friendship dramas like this one but knew better than to get involved so she could only advise him to let Rukia know he would be there whenever she was ready to talk. If he pushed too hard, he could jeopardise his friendships with both of them.

All of this information she had learned was starting to shape a different image in her mind; sometimes Hyorinmaru still appeared in her head as the tall, dark and handsome traveling business man, but now she had a clearer focus on his smile – rarely seen but brighter than anything, and his eyes – deep with emotion, care and love for his friends.

In return she had told him many personal things about herself, about her love of origami and chess, about her aversion to the 'dumb blondes' cliché, and about the struggles of being short-sighted. She had told him all about her dream to visit Italy; home of pasta, incredible monuments and fascinating history, not to mention the romantic side of it. He remembered everything she ever told him: he reminded to order new contacts when she was running low, remembered that Friday nights were her wine nights with Nanao and Orihime, he even remembered things she'd told him about her parents and made very good suggestions about what she could get her mother for her birthday.

He was much more than a boss now, he was a friend. They hadn't acknowledged it, but it couldn't be anything else. One did not simply tell their male boss about their rough period symptoms unless they were friends. She was both nervous and excited to meet him, spending almost twenty minutes alone deliberating on what to wear to the meeting and how much make-up would be appropriate. She finally settled on a light blue blouse that matched her eyes and a sensible black pencil skirt with her favourite work heels. Her make-up was light, and her hair tied back into a neat pony tail.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 07:55am**

 **Please tell me you haven't fallen back asleep.**

 **Matsumoto 07:56am**

 **Walking out the door now. Plenty of time to grab a coffee and get to the meeting on time.**  
 **See you there, Captain :)**

Rangiku swung her handbag onto her shoulder and dropped the phone inside, grabbing her keys and locking the front door behind her. She turned and marched down the hall towards the staircase (the building's elevator had been out of order for five years) with a big smile, today was the day she would finally meet Hyorinmaru.

…

"This is so exciting!" Rangiku squealed as Ichigo dropped into the chair beside her, "Everyone is here."

The board room was filling up quickly with all the department heads and their second in charges. Just as she had noticed in her first week of employment at Zeltrix, staff members across all departments seemed to be friends, a refreshing change from the cliquey and competitive departments at Game Station. Rangiku grinned and waved at Isane who worked under Captain Unohana in purchasing, she watched in awe as Yoruichi, Captain of Sales, squeeze-hugged a highly displeased Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of Accounts and Finance.

"The best bit is the free food," Ichigo sighed, staring wistfully at the plate of strawberry and chocolate iced donuts, "but I'm not allowed to touch it."

"Nobody is stopping you," Renji said, smirking from Ichigo's other side as he shoved a whole croissant into his mouth.

"The wedding is stopping me," Ichigo hissed at his fiancé, "And this stupid juice fast!"

The orange-haired man held up his juice bottle and shook it violently, causing Rangiku to roll her eyes. Ichigo was on day four of his third juice fast in three months and it was torture for both him and everyone around him. Usually the first two days were bearable, there was some light complaining about being hungry to begin with followed by a bit of bragging because now he had "so much energy!", but come day three and four, the strawberry's mood dropped and he became very easily annoyed and prone to fits of rage. On days five and six, everyone continued to tip toe around him as instead of fits of rage it was sudden fits of hysterical crying and lying on the office floor in the foetal position. The juice fast was supposed to last eight days but so far he hadn't made it past six days before someone (usually Renji) shoved food down his throat. Rangiku had been relieved every time because she could not even imagine what days seven and eight would be like.

Renji only opened his mouth in response, exposing a half chewed croissant that had Rangiku averting her eyes quickly before the image stuck in her mind and ruined her appetite forever. The two men continued to bicker beside her allowing Rangiku to observe the room in peace.

There was still no sign of Hyorinmaru, not that she actually knew who she was looking for. Everyone currently in the room she had met already and had been working with long enough now to know that their voices were not the deep and smooth voice she'd come to find rather comforting. She just wanted to meet the man behind the blank Skype icon; he was her friend and her boss, he shouldn't be such a mystery.

"Good morning, Ran," Isshin greeted, slipping into the empty seat on her other side, "I see Ichigo's day four symptoms are in full swing."

Rangiku glanced to the strawberry sitting beside her as he aggressively scribbled a surprisingly realistic picture of a fat Renji, gripping his pen so tightly that it snapped. Ichigo cursed before hurling the broken pen forcefully across the room and hitting Captain Kyoraku square in the back.

"This time seems worse," Rangiku murmured, leaning away from her second in charge, "I'm worried about tomorrow, I don't think I have enough tissues in my office."

"I'll bring some by this afternoon," Isshin frowned across her to his son who was now chewing on the corner of his notebook with a wild look in his eye, like a starved caveman.

"So," Isshin continued, turning back to her and smiling brightly as if his son hadn't just hissed at his fiancé for trying to take away his new paper snack, "First big meeting, are you nervous?"

"A little," Rangiku admitted, "But mostly excited; I can't wait to actually meet him!"

"Who?"

"Hyorinmaru, of course," Rangiku grinned, "Ichigo said he would be leading the meeting."

Isshin frowned, "I think what Ichigo meant was-"

"Okay everyone, take your seats," Captain Ukitake announced, standing at the top of the table while his assistant Kiyone turned on the data projector that was connected to the large screen at the front of the room, "Hyorinmaru wants this meeting started at 9am and we all know how punctual he is."

Rangiku checked her watch, 8:59am. She sat up straighter and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, her eyes trained on the door at the back of the room. Any second now and Hyorinmaru would walk into that board room and she would finally be able to put a face to the voice.

"Good morning everyone."

Rangiku whipped her head back to the front of the room so quickly she definitely hit both Isshin and Ichigo with her long pony tail.

There, at the head of the table, where her favourite voice in the world had sounded from, was nothing but a blank Skype icon on the large screen.

He wasn't here. He was on Skype.

"Good morning, Mr Hyorinmaru," Ukitake greeted, "We're all here and ready to begin."

"Good," the smooth voice coming through the speakers said, "Thank you all for being prompt this morning. I've called this meeting to discuss some changes to budget allocations and operational updates..."

Disappointment sunk in Rangiku's heart like an anchor. When Ichigo had told her that Hyorinmaru would be leading the meeting he had meant over Skype, not in person as she had so stupidly interpreted. The same old blank image graced the large screen, employees around the room looking towards it and nodding like it was an actual human in front of them. Hyorinmaru was still in London or Auckland or Singapore or wherever it was the last time she had asked, or perhaps he had already moved on to Beijing or Dubai or bloody Antarctica for all she knew. Either way, he wasn't in the board room with her in Zeltrix's Tokyo headquarters.

"As you all know, Zeltrix has been moving towards trying to reduce our carbon footprint from our operations," Hyorinmaru continued, "We've already reduced our energy and plastic use by thirty percent in a year thanks to purchasing decisions made by Unohana and her team. Unohana, would you please update everyone?"

"Certainly, Sir," Unohana stood in her place, addressing the room, "Due to the green initiatives built and agreed upon last year, we have reduced paper use by half while using only post-consumer waste, or recycled, paper where necessary. We have switched out all lightbulbs and appliances where possible for energy efficient models…"

Unohana continued to speak about what the company had already done and what their next steps would be but Rangiku had tuned out. She loved that the company was trying to be greener but she was distracted by her disappointment. Why did Hyorinmaru still refuse to be seen? Sure, maybe if he was still overseas that would be fine of him to lead the meeting over Skype but why not have his video on? Why couldn't the staff look at his face when he spoke to them and vice versa? Was it really all to do with the way he looked as Isshin had implied that first night at the restaurant?

Why would it matter what he looked like? He was the CEO of a highly successful international gaming company, probably with millions in the bank. The company was well respected across the world, and feared by its competitors. Hyorinmaru was so powerful it wouldn't matter what he looked like. How hideous did he have to be to hide his looks like that? What, did he have two heads, five arms and a set of ten nipples?

Clapping sounded and Rangiku jolted back to the meeting as Unohana sat back down, clearly done with her report.

"Thank you, Unohana," Hyorinmaru said, "With those new initiatives in place for the next two quarters I believe we will hit our target energy reduction targets with no problem."

' _What initiatives?'_ Rangiku frowned, having missed most of the Captain's report. Looking down at her notepad, Rangiku realised she hadn't taken a single note. Cursing under her breath, she looked over at Ichigo's notepad to steal his notes only to find it equally blank (and partially chewed) as the orange-haired man sobbed softly on Renji's shoulder, day five symptoms of his juice fast apparently arriving early.

"Don't worry," Isshin whispered to her, "I'll send you mine and we'll also get the minutes emailed to us."

The man nodded to Kiyone who was typing rapidly on a laptop beside Ukitake, obviously the minute-taker for today's meeting.

"Thank you," Rangiku mouthed, vowing to pay more attention for the rest of the meeting.

"Moving on, we've got had some very positive changes to our marketing approach over the last few months," Hyorinmaru announced, " _Captain_ Matsumoto, please share with everyone your new strategy."

Rangiku blinked, the captain title sounded weird before her name, largely because she could hear his slightly humoured tone change, but she felt her mouth smiling anyway.

"Okay," Rangiku stood as Unohana had although she was not nearly as confident or prepared for her report since she hadn't known she would be giving one, "Well, we're targeting our audience through social media, using humour to create shareable content and relate better to our target market. If you look at Zeltrix's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages you will see what we've been doing so far. It's still early days but we've already received positive feedback having increased our followers by 300-500 percent on all three platforms and have had several of our posts go viral internationally."

"That's great work, Matsumoto," Hyorinmaru complimented, her name sounding so good in his voice, "Has this reflected in sales yet, Shihoin?"

"We've seen a small increase," Yoruichi answered, "But as Rangiku said, it's still early days. Christmas is when we expect to see a real difference."

"Very good," Hyorinmaru agreed, "Thank you Matsumoto and Shihoin, I look forward to seeing the numbers come December."

Rangiku sat back down, smiling at Yoruichi who gave her a thumbs up in return.

"Now moving on to our final point on the agenda, we have to address some budget issues," Hyorinmaru sighed as a collective grumble sounded across the room; nobody wanted to hear about budget issues, "Captain Kuchiki, what's the situation?"

According the Byakuya, the movement towards a greener, more environmentally sustainable corporation was an expensive process. While the raven-haired man expected a long term financial benefit of the eco-friendly improvements, the current situation was that they had spent a lot of money to fund the initiatives and now some department budgets needed to be reduced to in order to continue Unohana's good work.

"Basically we want to know which departments can handle a budget cut and by how much," Hyorinmaru summed up the problem, "Kuchiki, Ukitake and I will look over the numbers properly over the next few days but you all know your departments better than we do so if you want to have any input, now is your time to speak up."

Captain Soi Fon from Research and Development stood first, "Ever since we moved to conducting research projects, namely consumer surveys, electronically as opposed to on paper, our department has managed to cut down on paper use, printing and labour hours. We could easily sacrifice 10 to 15 percent of our budget."

"The Communication department could give up about 10 percent as well," Kyoraku's husky voice sounded from the other end of the table, the man looking up from under the obnoxiously large straw hat that often wore.

Awestruck by her colleagues, Rangiku was suddenly filled with a sense of pride for working at Zeltrix. At Game Station, managers were very territorial of their budgets and would never dream of voluntarily sacrificing some of it for something they would deem as trivial as the environment. Everyone there was incredibly selfish, but at Zeltrix there was such a strong team spirit – everyone worked together for the good of the company, and also apparently for the good of the planet.

"The marketing department can assist too," she found herself saying causing all the faces in the room to turn towards her, "We have quite a surplus since most of our marketing is done through social media which is largely free to access. There is also a lot left over from previous years as the budget was never full engaged."

Because Momo Hinamori had done squat.

"How much do you think you could spare?" Hyorinmaru asked, sounding very interested.

"Forty percent easily," Rangiku answered quickly, "Maybe up to sixty percent if we decide not to create the video advertisement for YouTube which I don't think we'll actually need since Yukio's channel is so closely linked to our company's products – it advertises itself through him, really."

Before Hyorinmaru had told her all about his best friend, Yukio, Rangiku had only heard a little of the famous gamer, mostly through Gin. The Game Station CEO had been very frustrated that one of the most popular gamers in the world refused to use anything other than the Z-Box console and never once filmed himself playing a Game Station-developed game for his YouTube channel. It was a big challenge to have such a respected gamer and YouTuber having strong ties to the competition. Of course, knowing now about his special friendship with Hyorinmaru, Rangiku could respect Yukio's allegiance.

"That's… very generous of you, Matsumoto," Hyorinmaru's voice was softer than she had ever heard it, "Thank you."

"It's no problem," Rangiku ducked her head to cover her slight blush, "It's an important cause and I'm so proud to work for a company that actually cares for the planet."

A moment of silence passed over the room. For a moment, Rangiku felt like she might have said the wrong thing, but then-

"I agree," Hyorinmaru said at last, "It is an important cause which is why I'll be contributing part of my salary to it as well."

Jaws dropped around the room; Hyorinmaru was going to invest some of his personal income into helping the company become more environmentally sustainable? That was huge.

"I'd like to donate some of my salary as well," Isshin spoke up beside her, "As much as I would love to offer up some of the game development and production budget, we just can't afford it. Technology is changing quickly and it's getting more and more expensive to adapt and develop games on multiple platforms."

"I appreciate that, thank you, Isshin," Hyorinmaru murmured and Rangiku could almost hear a smile. She also noted the boss' use of Isshin's first name while everyone else had gone by surnames; clearly they had a closer relationship than any of the others, probably since Isshin had practically been his mentor growing up. "Well that is settled then, thank you all for your offers and attendance today, are there any last questions?"

' _Yeah,'_ Rangiku thought, _'When will I get to meet you in person?'_

"Very well," Hyorinmaru concluded when nobody spoke up, "Enjoy the rest of your day, dismissed."

And just like that, the call was ended.

…

That afternoon, Rangiku didn't get any of her work done. She spent the entire afternoon with her Skype app open staring at the screen. She was being tormented by a question, typing it in and instantly deleting before typing it back again, cursor hovering over the send button but never clicking it, only backspacing the words again; a vicious cycle.

The man her question pertained to was currently offline as he had been all day since the meeting. She wanted to send her message to him now; sending it while he was offline was like leaving a voicemail, much less confronting, although it did give him to opportunity to ignore it or the time to come up with a good lie. Maybe she could wait to he was online and just call him? They could speak it out, voice to voice.

No, that was a terrible idea, the man had a hundred other things to do, he didn't have time to take an unscheduled phone call from one of his executives.

She took a big breath and steeled herself to finally send the message, She began typing again and – _'Oh my god, he's online, delete, delete, delete!'_

The grey offline colour switched to green and he's blank icon popped up in the corner of the screen, his status stating he was online. Rangiku tried to quickly make herself appear offline but it was too late.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 15:37pm**

 **Attachment: Image**

 **Was that Kurosaki I heard crying during the meeting?**

The picture attached was of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House through a high-rise hotel window. She remembered now that the last place he had been was Melbourne for another gaming convention and that he would be travelling up to Sydney afterwards for a competition Yukio was competing in.

They did this little thing now where he would send her a picture every time he arrived in a new city. He was never in the shot of course, always just a landscape picture of the city around him but she adored them anyway. She always printed them out and pinned them on a board she had at home. She called it her 'travel board'; a collage of pictures of places she wanted to go someday but it was also a map of places Hyorinmaru had visited since he had known her. She always wrote the date on the back so she could remember his path. Her favourite picture so far had been from his time in Edinburgh; his picture showed the famous castle sitting majestically atop a tall cliff-side at sun down – it was breathtaking and she wasn't even there in person.

Rangiku printed the Sydney Harbour image, wrote today's date on the back and turned her laminator on; she liked to keep them protected.

While she waited for the machine to heat up, Rangiku's fingers sat frozen over the keyboard. She couldn't work out what say in return. On one hand she could have a little chat with him and warm him up before asking the big question, but alternatively, she could just straight out ask him. She also had the option of not asking him at all and carry on never knowing the truth. The first option seemed the best in her opinion but in all honestly, she was still rather disheartened from his lack of appearance this morning and it had put her in a far less chatty mood than she was normally was in.

 **Matsumoto 15:40pm**

 **Yeah, day 4 of the latest juice fast**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 15:41pm**

 **I thought day 4 was anger?**

 **Matsumoto 15.43pm**

 **Day 5 symptoms hit early I guess**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 15:46pm**

 **Is everything okay, Matsumoto? You seem off.**

How could he tell?! She'd barely said anything at all! Actually, that was probably what tipped him off. Well that and the lack of emoticons. Usually she had great fun tell him all about the shenanigans of Ichigo's emotional rollercoaster of a diet but today she was clearly not feeling it.

Well, he knew something was bothering her, now was a good a time as any to ask. This time when she typed her question in, she forced herself not to hesitate; _'just click send'._

 **Matsumoto 15.50pm**

 **Why don't you want people to know what you look like?**

After a minute of him not responding, Rangiku began to panic, suddenly regretting every life decision that had led to this moment. She ended up overcompensating by typing and sending more messages.

 **Matsumoto 15.51pm**

 **I'm sorry, that was rude.**

 **You don't have to tell me.**

 **I was just a bit disappointed this morning. I thought you were coming to lead the meeting in person. I just think it might be nice to meet you in person.**

 **You are my boss after all.**

' _And also my friend'_ , but that bit was left unsaid.

Rangiku waited and waited but still no response came through, further tightening the anxious feeling her stomach. He still hadn't replied when by the time she had laminated her new picture and packed it into her bag between her folders so it wouldn't bend. He still hadn't replied when the work day had ended, or when she had logged off her computer, turned down Renji's offer to go drinking and caught the train home. He still had not replied by the time she had sat down on her little sofa with a take away box of Chinese noodles and a glass of wine to watch her favourite sitcom, F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Eventually she gave up on the idea of him ever replying and that scared her. Was that the end of her friendship with him forever? Or could she send him a new and totally unrelated message in the morning which he could then reply to and they could pretend this awkward moment had never occurred?

Her show ended with her noodles only half eaten and cold, and her wine almost untouched. Rangiku sighed, this was stressing her out too much. She decided to throw out the remained of her dinner and wine and head to her bed, laptop tuck securely under her arm. She would try and take her mind of it by catching up on some of the work she didn't get done in the office that day.

She was almost half an hour deep into researching new social media marketing methods and emerging trends when the Skype tone alerted her to a new message.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:15pm**

 **I don't look how a CEO should look.**

Rangiku replied instantly; it was time to get him to tell her truth.

 **Matsumoto 20:15pm**

 **How is a CEO supposed to look?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:16pm**

 **Confident, strong, successful, tall… just to name a few qualities.**

The reply came surprisingly quick and Rangiku honed in on the only word that actually physically described someone's appearance, 'tall'. Okay, so she was dealing with a shorty – no big deal, lots of men were short next to her.

 **Matsumoto 20:17pm**

 **Tall? Captain, I don't think that's a real requirement. In fact I just read that Mark Zuckerberg is actually quite short too! He had to use a booster seat at that Congress hearing a few months ago to make himself look taller.**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:19pm**

 **If I remember correctly, people made fun of him for that.**

 **Matsumoto 20:19pm**

 **Only because he used a booster seat. Nobody noticed he was that short before then and even if they did notice, they certainly didn't care. He's successful and worth millions, why does his height mean anything?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:20pm**

 **Because he's 1.7m and that's hardly short on the scale of things. Furthermore, he is normal looking in almost every other aspect. He's even married.**

Rangiku frowned – what did that mean? The man was clearly not in a giving mood having avoided being specific about anything. She wasn't stupid though, she could tell that whatever the situation was with his physical appearance, he was obviously very insecure about it. She had no idea whether he was being irrational in his decision to avoid all appearance links to his company because she had no idea what he looked like. She did, however, understand exactly how it felt to not like the way you looked.

 **Matsumoto 20:24pm**

 **I know how you feel, sometimes I get insecure about the way I look too. Sometimes I wish I looked completely different.**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:25pm**

 **How is that possible?**

Rangiku raised an eyebrow at the abrupt reply. Was that a compliment? How did he even know what she looked like, the only picture he had of her was her work Skype display picture which was a very professional shot of just her head. Before she had time to reply, the man sent another message.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:26pm**

 **Isshin sent me a photo of you guys at that bar across from the office. You're exactly the type of girl Yukio would be trying to hit on the second he saw you in a bar.**

 **Matsumoto 20:27pm**

 **And that's exactly my point. Do you have any idea what it's like to be sitting with my girlfriends and just have sleazy guy after sleazy guy come hit on me and try and pull me away from my friends? Or to not be able to walk down the street without being cat called? Or to be hired just because I'm 'hot' and not because I actually have a degree and experience. I have to stand in the female-only train carriage even at 8am in the morning just to avoid getting my ass squeezed by a creepy business man.**

That last thing had happened to her so many times it wasn't funny. She knew she had just been on a bit of a rant but she couldn't help getting worked up about it. She wasn't the type of girl who could just embrace her good looks, in fact she was embarrassed by them. She'd been embarrassed when she was the first girl in her grade to have to wear a bra at age eleven. She'd been embarrassed when the zipper on her school skirt had busted during class because her hips had grown. She'd been embarrassed when her high school classmates would pretend to trip near her just so they could reach out and grab her breasts 'accidently' to stead themselves.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:29pm**

 **I'm sorry you've been treated that way, Matsumoto, that's not right.**

 **If you don't mind me asking, was that why Ichimaru hired you?**

 **Matsumoto 20:30pm**

 **Yes.**

Tears filled her eyes a little. Gin was the worst of the lot. He had hired her, taken her in, promised her mentoring and experience, promised her love and protection, but in the end, he'd hurt her more than anyone. He'd embarrassed her more than any creep on the street or immature school boy.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:31pm**

 **Bastard.**

Rangiku choked a laugh as a tear rolled down her cheek. She tried to imagine Hyorinmaru's smooth voice sounding rude or threatening but she couldn't. She couldn't even imagine him swearing with a voice like that.

 **Matsumoto 20:32pm**

 **I understand you're insecurities, Captain. I know what it's like to stare in a mirror and hate everything you see.**

And she certainly did know. She still did look in the mirror like that and it had only gotten worse since… since the incident with Gin.

 **Hyorinmaru 20:34pm**

 **I'm not ready for the world to know what I look like just yet.**

Rangiku sighed; the aim was to make him open up and tell the truth but she had ended up telling more truths than he had. In fact, he was still very vague on the matter; all she knew was that he was probably on the short side. Shorter than Mark Zuckerberg anyway…

 **Matsumoto 20:35pm**

 **That's fair, but when you are ready, I'll be here. I prefer to judge people on what's in their heart, not what they look like.**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20:35pm**

 **Thank you Matsumoto, I appreciate your support.**

 **Now, can I finally hear about the latest instalment of 'Ichigo's Wedding Diet Saga'?**

A very obvious change in topic but Rangiku was okay with it. She felt like they had taken a big step forward tonight – she had talked about things she was never comfortable talking about with her friends and family and he had given her one more crucial bit of information about himself to her. It wasn't that he was short but that he was extremely self-conscious of his looks. Of course it made her very curious but it also made him seem more… human? She knew a lot about his favourite things but you really got to know someone when you knew their fears and insecurities. His biggest insecurity was also hers – it was the first big thing they had in common.

 **Matsumoto 20:37pm**

 **Omg, Sir, you should have seen him today! The poor kid must be absolutely starving, he tried to eat his notebook before the meeting!**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 20.38pm**

… **what.**

 **Matsumoto 20:38pm**

 **He was like a wild animal, Captain, I'm serious.**

The conversation picked up a fun and happy mood; they laughed about Ichigo's insane dieting symptoms and Renji's total lack of care given, she asked about Sydney and Melbourne and got the latest update in the 'Yukio and Rukia Saga' (they had an inside joke about adding the word 'Saga' on to any story that was continually brought up, the first being the 'Starbucks Saga' where no matter which country he was in, they always spelt his name wrong on the cup).

By 11pm, Rangiku was feeling a million times better than she had all evening and decided to call it a night, especially since it was midnight in Sydney (it was nice having him almost on the same time zone for once). She signed off and put her laptop away, starting the night time routine of brushing her teeth, and making her way to bed. When she finally crawled back in to bed and pulled her millions of blankets up around her, she fell asleep almost instantly; there was no Gin in her mind that evening.

Or so she'd thought.

…

Rangiku jolted forward in her bed, a scream ripping from her throat.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe and her whole body felt like it was on fire.

She couldn't tell if the moisture on her face was tears or sweat or both.

Her chest heaved as her lungs and heart tried desperately to pull oxygen into her body.

" _Tell me you want me, Ran-chan."_

"No," Rangiku shook her head, the nightmare not leaving her mind, "Please stop!"

She rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a dull thud and stumbled her way through the dark towards the bathroom. The cold tiles were like heaven on her feet. She gripped onto the basin to steady herself, her whole body shaking.

Her stomach churned uncomfortably but she gripped the sink tighter and clenched her eyes, willing the feeling to go away before she threw up.

" _Be a good girl for me, Ran-chan."_

Rangiku spared a glance at herself in the bathroom mirror; there was just enough light coming through the window from the full moon outside to know that she looked like absolutely shit. Pale, sweaty, hair a mess and tears stained onto her cheeks. The self-hate started to whisper to her in the back of her mind but she pushed it away as she reached out for faucet. She splashed cold water onto her face and the back of her neck, finally starting to cool down, She used her hands to make a cup and drank the water thirstily.

It took several more deep breaths and sips of water before she felt like she could move again. She returned to her bedroom but her bed seemed extremely uninviting, the sight of it making her feel ill. Instead, she changed into fresh pyjamas and a warm hoodie, grabbed a blanket, pillow and her laptop before setting up camp on her living room couch. She turned the T.V. on but muted it so it lit up the room.

Her body was still trembling and her eyes were sore: she was in no way capable of going back to sleep. She opened her laptop hoping to maybe get some work done or at least some online shopping to calm herself down and take her mind off it but before she'd barely opened her internet browser, a ding sounded loudly in the otherwise silent room.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 02:25am**

 **What are you doing up, Matsumoto? It's late.**

Rangiku stared at the message, her mind blank. She didn't want to have a typed conversation with him at this hour while her breathing was still heavy and her hands had trembled so much she had mistyped her login password three times.

She wanted to hear his voice though, more than anything in the world. Before she could have a single rational thought about what she was doing, she clicked the voice call button, the ringing tone echoing around her apartment.

"Hello?"

Hyorinmaru's voice was beautiful. It sounded tired and confused but it was still beautiful.

Only after a brief pause did she remember it was her cue to speak and yet she had no idea what to say.

"Hi," she said eventually, trying to sound upbeat and like this was a perfectly normal situation she had put herself in just now but she doubted she was fooling anyone.

"What's wrong?" Hyorinmaru asked instantly; obviously not deceived in the slightest.

"Nothing," Rangiku said quickly, her voice noticeably thicker, "What are you doing up so late?"

"I have just finished a call with Rockstar North, it seems they'll be developing a new version of Grand Theft Auto soon," Hyorinmaru explained, "But I believe it was I who asked that question first, Matsumoto."

"Oh I'm just…" Rangiku couldn't think of an answer, "Just…Just…"

And then worst thing that could possible happen while she was on the phone to her boss happened; she burst out in tears. Not just subtle, quiet tears but full on ugly sobbing. It was hideous.

"Rangiku!" Hyorinmaru's voice sounded alarmed, "What's happened?"

Still unable to answer, Rangiku cried into her hands. She was so ashamed and embarrassed but she couldn't stop herself. She was so tired; every single night she woke up like this and it was definitely taking a physical toll on her. She hated Gin, she hated herself. She wanted to cry and yet she hadn't bloody stopped, she wanted to sleep but sleeping meant more nightmares, she wanted a cup of hot chocolate and hug but she was so damn alone. The only person she had for company was just a voice talking through her laptop from the other side of the world.

"I'm sorry," Rangiku sniffed, reaching for a tissue from the box on her coffee table, "I just had a bad dream. I shouldn't have called, I'll let you go. Good night, Sir."

"Don't hang up," her boss ordered promptly, "Please. Stay and talk to me."

Rangiku's finger hovered over the mouse pad, she couldn't disobey that voice.

"Can you tell me what the dream was about?" Hyorinmaru asked softly.

Leaning back on the couch and rubbing her forehead (she now had a throbbing headache from all the crying), the strawberry blonde woman took a deep breath.

"Gin," her voice shook with the name of her attacker, "It's always about Gin."

"Do you dream about him often?" was the curious response.

Rangiku scoffed bitterly, "Every single night."

Hyorinmaru was silent for a moment as he presumably contemplated her words. Gods, she wished he was here with her now. She didn't care if he was a four foot tall, yellow-eyed reptile, she just want his company; she wanted to hear his voice without the slight tell-tale crackle of a speaker, she wanted to see him in front of her and feel his hand rub her back soothingly. She wanted to know what it was like to be held by him.

"What did he do to you, Ran?" Hyorinmaru's voice sighed, "He hurt you, didn't he?"

"Yep," Rangiku's voice cracked a little, "Yes, he did."

It was silent again and Rangiku wasn't sure if he was contemplating again or if he was waiting for her to elaborate further. She felt like she'd hit rock bottom again, crying on the phone to her mystery CEO in the middle of the night; she hadn't felt so pathetic since she was unemployed and had to ask her parents for money just to buy some groceries.

"He raped me," Rangiku spoke again, surprising even herself for saying it out loud for the first time ever, "I've never told anyone before."

There was another pause of silence from the other end of the conversation but this time it was much tenser than it had been before.

Eventually, a softer voice than she was expecting answered her.

"Rangiku," Hyorinmaru said her name gently, "I'm glad you told me… What happened?"

"When I broke up with him, he didn't take it very well," Rangiku explained anyway, her body stiff in the coldness her boss' voice projected, "He begged me to take him back but when I said no, he decided to force himself on me."

It was so hard to say it out loud and yet it felt so refreshing, like someone had placed a large brick on her chest, pinning her to the ground, but she'd finally found the strength to lift it off.

"Matsumoto," Hyorinmaru's voice could have cut through concrete, "I promise you that for as long as you work Zeltrix, I will ensure that it never happens again. He will never get you alone again, even if I personally have to see to it."

Rangiku allowed herself a small tug at the lips, "Thank you, Sir."

They both took a moment to recover themselves. Rangiku didn't feel amazing but she felt lighter than she had in months. Now that someone else knew, she didn't feel so alone. Yes, it had been embarrassing to admit it to her boss while crying but it gave her a slight confidence boost. Maybe she could talk to her friends next, maybe even her parents, but she had taken a huge step tonight and it had felt good.

She laid back on sofa, tucking her pillow under her head and pulling her blanket up around her. The T.V. and her laptop kept the room fairly well light just as she preferred.

"You can hang up if you want, Captain," Rangiku yawned, "I might try and get some sleep now."

"I'll stay until I know you're asleep," Hyorinmaru responded softly, "I was going to stay up a little longer to start looking through those budget numbers anyway."

Rangiku felt her heart swell at the gesture; he was going to stay up even though it was later in Sydney than it was in Tokyo to make sure she got back to sleep okay. He was such a softie, she'd realised. She didn't need to see him to know he was a beautiful man, she could see it in the way he spoke about his friends and the way he treated her.

"Hey, Captain," Rangiku whispered, "Did you call me 'Ran' earlier?"

"That's what Isshin calls you," Hyorinmaru replied matter-of-factly, "I assume that's what your all friends call you."

"It is," Rangiku agreed.

"Well, I'm your friend."

Rangiku smiled; "And what do your friends call you?"

"Hold-my-roo," Hyorinmaru answered quickly, referencing to what the Melbourne Starbucks had written on his Grande cup a few days ago, and not falling for her attempt to get him to say his real name out loud

Rangiku laughed and it had never felt so good.

...

Rangiku entered her office the following morning, literally stepping over a foetal-positioned Ichigo in her door way as the strawberry male cried on the carpet while clutching his juice bottle. She stopped suddenly in front of her desk, a splash of red catching her eye.

There on her desk, a dozen roses wrapped in silver paper and held together with a teal ribbon laid before her.

Circling the desk, Rangiku picked up the beautiful bouquet of red flowers and smelled them, so fresh and sweet. She noticed a small note attached with the ribbon. Flipping it over and reading it, a smile graced Rangiku's lips.

 _Have a wonderful day, Ran._  
 _\- H_

…

 **Ahh the roses are here and soon the title will make sense.**

 **Ps. I love reviews xoxo**


	3. New York!

"Again, I am so so so sorry, Ran," Ichigo's guilt-filled voice kept up with her fast pace, "I honestly didn't mean to hurt you. I was just… I don't know but I think I might have been possessed or something."

Rangiku chuckled but did not slow down, "It's fine, Ichigo, it was an accident."

"You're hip will definitely be bruised," Ichigo sulked, his head hanging, "You should fill out an incident report."

"No time," Rangiku replied, readjusting her hold on the ice pack she held to her hip that seemed to be taking the feeling out of her hand more than her hipbone, "And we weren't onsite anyway, we were at the café down the street."

When Ichigo wasn't on one of his crazy wedding diets, the most recent being the 'lemonade diet' because "Beyoncé does it and Beyoncé is queen!", he and Rangiku often went to grab a quick breakfast together at a local café before getting stuck into their work, but today… Well, today Rangiku learned that Ichigo really did have an odd relationship with food. She had been in the middle of explaining her latest idea for a series of memes for the Zeltrix Facebook page when a waitress had walked past with a plate of bacon causing Ichigo, starving after a 10-day Hollywood diet, to quite literally push Rangiku out of the way in order to get closer to the crispy, fat-dripping meat. Rangiku had hit her hipbone on a table, and Ichigo had not stopped apologising since, more than once claiming to have been 'overcome by Satan'.

Honestly, if she wasn't in such a rush to get back to the office, she'd find the whole thing hilarious, but today she was in a rush as today was Wednesday. On Wednesdays, Rangiku got roses from her boss, the highly elusive Hyorinmaru. After she had walked into the office the morning after she had shared with him her darkest secret, she had found a bouquet of twelve roses and a little note wishing her a good day.

It had been such a beautiful gesture, and it had made her feel a whole lot less embarrassed by her actions from the previous night, i.e. calling him at 3am in tears. When she had asked him about it, he had just told her it was a little gift to cheer her up, but to her it was so much more; it was him saying that he was here for her, and that's what she needed more than anything right now.

The following week, another bouquet had arrived, but this time it only had eleven roses. Rangiku had originally thought that the florist might have accidently miscounted and didn't think too much of it. However the next week, it was ten roses, followed by nine the week after that and eight after that.

"You're counting down the roses," Rangiku had stated one day, around the fourth week of roses, "What happens when I get to the last one?"

"You'll see," was the ever-vague response, which had then been followed by a smiley face – the first ever emoticon he had used in one of their conversations.

It had prompted her to double her emoticon quota per message she sent, he now received more little faces, animals and weather emoji's than he did actual words.

Today, she was expecting five roses if the pattern was to continue. It was killing her to not know what was at the end of this game he was playing. She had hoped it was when she would get to meet him in person, but quickly vanquished the thought from her mind – if she was ever going to meet him, it was going to be years later. Ichigo had mentioned he was coming to his wedding but Rangiku knew Hyorinmaru better now than to assume the man would rock up, introduce himself, make a toast and ask her if she wanted to dance. She wouldn't be surprised if she found a laptop with an ongoing skype call in progress than an actual human in his chair at the reception.

Finally making it to her office and brushing off a slightly dejected Ichigo while half-heartedly trying to convince him that she wasn't rushing to get away from him but to get some work done, Rangiku shut her door behind her and turned towards her desk. She actually squealed when she saw the small bouquet of five red roses sitting on her desk. She couldn't stop grinning as she put them in the vase of water with last week's six that still looked pretty good, only beginning to brown a little around the petal edges (she had researched how to look after them properly to keep them looking fresh for as long as possible).

The roses were definitely the highlight of her week, and what was more, they provided her with the opportunity to spark up another conversation with him each week. Of course, he still sent her reminders to get out of bed every day and they talked most nights when she had bad nightmares. She did try to be considerate of when he might be sleeping, but the one good thing about him being on the other side of the globe was that he was generally awake when she needed someone to talk to in the middle of the night. He had wanted her not to worry about that though, even giving her his private phone number (her heart had honestly skipped about five beats in that moment).

Opening up her skype tab, Rangiku sent a message to her roses sender.

 **Matsumoto 09:35am**

 **OMG! Five flowers! I am so curious to see what happens when they get to one ;)**

 **Wait… there's a card :o**

The card had caught her eye as she typed her first message. It had been under the flowers and she had been too focused on them as she put them into the vase that she hadn't seen it at first, but there on her desk laid a little white envelope, 'Matsumoto' scrolled across the front in a heavily-slanted, narrow hand-written font.

Rangiku practically launched herself across the desk to reach it, not too dissimilar to the way Ichigo had flung himself towards the bacon, and to be fair, Rangiku was certain she'd have pushed him out of the way too.

"Dear Matsumoto,

I'm sending you on your first business trip. You and Ichigo will be flying to New York to attend the major gaming conference there next week. There is a huge seminar on market trends and emerging promotional strategies that I believe will be beneficial for your team. I'll email you the details tomorrow.

T.H.

x"

So many thoughts crashed into her brain. New York? Business trip? Hand written? T.H.? X?!

She tried to focus on one thought at a time; he was sending her on her first ever business trip to New York?! She had never been to the U.S. before! She had never even been out of Asia before. She wasn't sure if she should hyperventilate or faint, but either way she was shocked and far beyond excited. She had always wanted to go to New York, so many of her favourite television shows were set there. Ichigo was apparently joining her; she hoped that they might be given enough time to explore the city after the conference.

Excitedly, she turned back to her computer.

 **Matsumoto 09:42am**

 **WHAT! You're sending me to New York for the conference? :o**

 **I can't believe it! Thank you! The card was hand written too? Was it yours?**

The handwriting on the card was definitely that of a man's; it was fairly neat considering, especially when compared to Ichigo's, but definitely not as neat as someone who worked for the florist. It was narrow and slanted, all the letters running into each other. She liked to try and analyse people by their handwriting, something she had done as a little experiment during her psychology classes at university. She was pretty sure it was his writing; it described a man who was busy, efficient, intelligent and maybe even a little introverted.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 09:45am**

 **Yes, it's hand written by myself, I wrote it and posted it so they could include it with your flowers.**

Rangiku grinned and held it to her chest as she leaned back in her chair. A hand written note meant so much to her, although she wasn't sure why.

 **Matsumoto 09:46am**

 **Well that was very nice of you Captain ;)**

 **I'll keep it forever 3 I am so excited! Oh! What will I wear? :D**

 **I have this blue work dress that looks quite nice, I guess I could wear that, or even my purple top with the grey skirt? OH! I bought a new suit last week and I gotta say, it looks fabulous, so I'll definitely take that.**

She quite often sent him lots of garbage messages about what she should wear to this and that, sometimes even taking pictures of the outfits to send him. She did it when she was online shopping too, taking screenshots of the models and sending them to him, asking if she should buy it or not. Hyorinmaru did not care for choosing clothes so she found it amusing to fill his inbox with her nonsense. The only time she could sense he had any interest in the matter was when discussing brands; for some reason, he always recommended Armani. She was trying to steer clear of the big brands for the moment, however, as she was trying to save up again to move out of her shitty little apartment.

She read the note over again, this time focusing on the T.H. and the 'x'. Previously, he had signed off all of his typed notes with just an 'H', presumably for Hyorinmaru, but today's note was signed off T.H. She assumed those were his initials, but whether the H was still for Hyorinmaru or something else, she didn't know. T, how many Japanese names did she know that started with T? Well, lots actually, she would be there all day trying to write a list and even longer trying to guess which it could be. It felt like he was giving her a clue to his real identity, like he was trusting her more and more. Rangiku hoped that was true because she saw him as one of her closest friends and she hated feeling like it was one sided. She knew that wasn't completely true though, he deeply cared for her in the way he stayed up at ungodly hours to sooth her after a nightmare and the way he sent her flowers each week. She knew his insecurities were the only things keeping them from being normal face-to-face friends.

They were friends but Rangiku wondered if they were becoming something more. Hyorinmaru sent her roses every week, but whether that was simply because they were his favourite flowers or because they were an international symbol for romance, she didn't know. She had assumed it was the former, but now with a little 'x' at the end, she was unsure. Was that honestly him signing off with a kiss? It had to be. He didn't seem like the type of man to sign off messages with an 'x' to just anyone, whereas Rangiku signed off a lot of her messages to friends (girl friends) with an 'x'.

Did he have feelings for her?

Rangiku actually snorted out loud. _As if!_ He was a millionaire CEO with an IQ higher than her body length in centimetres that could not be tied down to a single country it seemed. He wouldn't be interested in her like that. Yukio maybe, if the stories Hyorinmaru had told her were anything to go by, but Hyorinmaru? No. He probably wanted a woman who was quieter, well-travelled, matched his rumoured lack of height, and didn't talk so much about clothes.

For Rangiku though, well she didn't know how she felt. She could feel her feelings growing but tried to squash them down every time. The last thing she needed was to fall for another boss, especially one that couldn't bring himself to face her. At least she didn't have to worry about it ending the same way it did with Gin though.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 09:55am**

 **You should know I booked the tickets and hotel room etc before I knew Gin was going.**

 **So whatever you wear make sure it's appropriate, Ichigo is going as well so please stick close to him. Ichigo is protective by nature, he wont let anything happen to you.**

 _Speak of the devil._

Rangiku felt her heart clench a little. Face to face with Gin? She had spent the last six months running from him, and now she was going to fly across the world to see him? To knowingly go to a conference and be in the same room as her attacker? The thought was almost enough to make her not want to go, but she had to go, she wanted to go. She wanted to make Hyorinmaru and the company proud, and she wanted to make herself proud. She was over trying to hide from him and avoiding the places she loved or wanted to visit because she was scared of running in to him. It was time to be brave, and to show him how little effect he'd had on her (although that was slightly untrue given the nightly terrors).

Ichigo would be with her, and he had become quite protective of her when they were out at restaurants and bars. He didn't know but she thought that maybe he suspected. Either way, he would keep her safe at the conference and help her feel more comfortable around that snake.

 **Matsumoto 09:58am**

 **It was inevitable that I'd be in the same room as him again, given that I choose to work for you. However I don't regret my decision at all, I will proudly go and represent Zeltrix at this conference. I will keep Ichigo close though don't worry :) I will even make him wait outside the bathroom for me.**

She was joking about the bathroom but had a feeling Ichigo probably would want to stand outside and wait anyway. He always seemed to offer to do that when they were out together and Rangiku always gave him a firm 'no'.

Rangiku chuckled a little just thinking about the strawberry man standing outside the bathroom, scanning the room with suspicious eyes, looking much tougher than he actually was.

She quickly jumped up from her chair and was promptly reminded of the pain in her hip. Groaning a little as she reached for the ice pack that sat abandoned where the roses had been left, she put it to her hip and limped towards the door. She swung it open and Ichigo was immediately on his feet, looking at her with concern.

"How's your hip?" he asked quickly and in mild panic, "I'm seriously so sorry, Rangiku."

"Forget the hip," Rangiku grinned, leaning against the door frame, "And pack your bags, we're going to New York City, baby!"

...

"The blue one," Nanao stated decisively, pushing her glasses further up her nose, "It matches your eyes."

"It does, doesn't it," Rangiku smiled at the blue dress option in her right hand.

The girls were over and helping her to decide what to take to New York. They had quite easily decided on her conference work clothes and casual clothes for sightseeing, but there was still the dilemma about what to wear at the conference's closing dinner party. Rangiku wasn't sure if she would run into Gin during the educational parts of the conference and was fairly confident he wouldn't try anything in that sort of environment, but at the dinner party afterwards, she was positive he would be focusing on her. She wanted to wear something that was 'appropriate', something she hadn't owned when they were dating, but also something nice because she wasn't about to compromise her fashion sense for some jerk. She wanted to show how better off she was without him or Game Station, to prove that she definitely wouldn't be crawling back to him.

"But pink is your signature colour," Orihime countered with dramatic hand gestures to the pink dress in Rangiku's left hand, "It's who you are. It's iconic."

Rangiku loved her high school friend Orihime, she really did; the girl was as soft as butter and just as smart. While she certainly wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, she was the most caring and heartfelt person she knew.

"Pink is what I wore before Gin," Rangiku sighed, "A stupid colour for a stupid little girl."

"You broke up last year," Orihime frowned, "You weren't that little."

"I was still naïve and dumb," Rangiku muttered, frowning at the pink dress.

She had bought it online only a few weeks ago but had regretted the instant she tried it on. It reminded her too much of the dress she wore to impress Gin at an important business dinner early on in their relationship.

"The blue," Rangiku decided finally, tossing the pink dress to Orihime before folding the blue dress and placing in gently in her suitcase.

"Great, you girls are finally done looking at clothes," Ichigo rolled his eyes from where he lounged across her bed, "Now let's eat cheese and drink wine!"

Ichigo had officially become 'one of the girls' a few weeks previous when he had come by Rangiku's apartment during one of their wine nights to drop off some paperwork for her. He had ended up staying the whole night and was too drunk to make his own way home so Renji had to come by and (literally) pick him up. Since then, he had shown up every Friday night with a bottle of wine and a fancy, low-fat cheese with gluten free crackers.

"I thought the gays were into fashion," Rangiku teased, flicking his arm as she reached over to zip her suitcase closed.

"Not this gay," Ichigo sighed, "This gay is only into wine, cheese and gossip."

"And bacon," Rangiku smirked causing the strawberry to pout behind his wine glass.

"We don't gossip," Nanao said, sitting up straighter in her chair and looking mildly offended.

"Last week you spent ninety minutes bitching about your boss and how she didn't wear a bra to work," Ichigo argued.

"Because it was inappropriate! You could see her nipples through her shirt," Nanao hissed, "And it wasn't just to work, it was to a meeting with the manager for the whole Western Pacific region."

"It was gossip," Rangiku agreed with her co-worker, "And we love to gossip."

And gossip they did, for hours and hours, for wine after wine. Apparently Orihime's new neighbour was the hottest man on the planet (her words), Nanao's ex-boyfriend was texting her again and Ichigo had more than one weird bedroom kink which was more than Rangiku really wanted to know about her second in charge.

"Come on, Ran," Ichigo slurred, eyelid fluttering uncontrollably, "What's new with you, girl?"

"You see me every day," Rangiku giggled, "Nothing is new."

"Those roses are new," the strawberry man winked… or blinked? Rangiku couldn't tell, they were both too drunk.

"Roses?!" screamed Orihime, unaware of her volume, "What roses?!"

"There are no roses," Rangiku denied quickly, shaking her head fast so they couldn't catch the blush developing on her cheeks but she just ended up making herself dizzy, "I don't know what he's talking about. Go home, Ichigo, you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk, you're drunk," Ichigo argued, "And you do have roses! On your desk, every week! Don't think I don't notice."

All three of them broke into a loud, continuous chorus of questions, each of them getting louder and louder as they tried to be heard over each other.

"Guys!" Rangiku yelled to catch their attentions, "Okay look, it's just some little roses, no big deal."

"Who are they from?" Nanao asked quickly, "A boy, I assume?"

"A man, yes," corrected Rangiku, "But he's just a friend."

"A friend who sends you roses?" Ichigo's eyebrows rose disbelievingly, "A friend once sent me roses, and guess what? Now I'm marrying him!"

"You guys are so cute together!" Rangiku added quickly, knowing how easily distracted Ichigo could become when talking about Renji, the wedding or his dieting practices, "When's the wedding again?"

"December first," Ichigo announced proudly, sitting up straighter and holding his pinky out while taking a sip of his wine, "Did I tell you we've booked a band?"

Rangiku gave a look of mock surprise, as if she hadn't already heard this piece of news six times in the last fortnight.

"Don't distract him, Ran," Nanao chided with a suffering eye roll, "We're talking about you, remember? Now, who's the man?"

Groaningly loudly and covering her eyes, Rangiku told her friends once again that the roses were from someone who was just her friend… also her boss, but she didn't say that bit out loud.

"Okay, okay, he's just your friend," Nanao relented but not looking at all convinced, "Where did you meet him?"

Rangiku paused; she couldn't say he was her boss or that he even worked for Zeltrix because Ichigo was sitting right beside her and would undoubtly figure out who she was talking about.

"Online," she answered eventually; it wasn't a lie, they had met on Skype technically.

"Is he hot?" Orihime asked loudly, causing Nanao to roll her eyes once again and Ichigo to sit forward with interest.

Rangiku let out a barked, somewhat hysterical and uncomfortable laugh. All three of her friends looked taken aback at the odd reaction and shared concerned glances with each other. Even Rangiku was surprised at the weird sound that had ripped from her throat, but she couldn't help it; she had no idea what Hyorinmaru looked like. She envisioned him as this classically handsome, albeit short, business man, but the Zeltrix owner had basically implied he was some sort of freaky-looking Martian. His voice though… Rangiku thought that if a voice could match someone's looks, than Hyorinmaru must have been the most beautiful looking specimen on this earth.

"Oh y-you know…" Rangiku stammered, voice high, "He's a bit short, I guess, but he's got a great smile."

She didn't actually know that for sure, but sometimes when they spoke on the phone, she could hear the smile in his voice and it sounded gorgeous. She could also assume he had most of his teeth given that he didn't have a lisp and a full mouth of teeth generally helped make a good smile.

"How short?" Ichigo asked, raising a curious and somewhat challenging eyebrow.

"Smaller than me," Rangiku shrugged, although it wasn't hard to be shorter than her as she towered over many at 180cm. She was shorter than Ichigo, however, much to the orange-haired man's relief; they had the intern use a ruler to mark each of their heights against a her office door frame, each trying to prove they were the taller – in the end, Rangiku had come up four centimetres under and owed the strawberry a foot massage, which she had dutifully completed, but not without loudly vocalised disgust.

"So do you think it will lead somewhere with this…what did you say his name was again?" Nanao asked another difficult question.

Nanao was the opposite of Orihime; she was sharp as a whip and just as unemotional. She was the more logical of the trio and the best person to have in a crisis or at tax time. Rangiku often felt like the filling of their friendship sandwich, the one that held them together. She could be as fun and as sweet as Orihime and as smart and calm Nanao. She used to be the most wild of the three though and would be the first to make an inappropriate joke, but those days were long behind her now; they had come to a crashing halt when Gin had entered her life.

"Tokyo," Rangiku said after a minute of blank thoughts, "Tokyo Hyor-uhh,shima."

"Tokyo… Hiroshima?" Nanao and Ichigo repeated disbelievingly, while Orihime – who hadn't suspected any suspicion in the name – quickly brought out her phone murmuring something about stalking him on Facebook.

"He had very weird, very patriotic parents," Rangiku shrugged, continuing to roll with her obvious lie.

Nanao pinched the bridge of her nose in response while closing her eyes and sighing deeply. Rangiku grimaced as she watched the normally pretty sober brunette practically chug the contents of her wine glass – Nanao Ise did not tolerate the unintelligent well, which was any wonder how Rangiku had managed to keep the peace between her and Orihime since they were all sixteen. Out of the corner of her eye, Ichigo was looking at her with great suspicion, his eyes narrowed and a firm frown set on his normally very happy face. She hoped that was the look of a drunken man trying to focus his spinning vision than that of a smarter-than-he-appears man who may have just worked out who sent her those roses.

...

"Ahh, private jet, my old friend," Ichigo sighed happily, sinking into one of the very comfortable looking chairs by the plane window, "I've missed you."

"You've been on it before?" Rangiku asked, sitting in the seat across the aisle from him so she too could look out a window.

"A couple of times," Ichigo answered, already reclining the seat that he would have to put back up for take-off anyway, "Hyorinmaru flew me and Dad to Germany to celebrate his and Rukia's birthdays one year. They're about a month apart, but he'll only celebrate his birthday if she agrees to combine it with hers."

"You guys are really close, aren't you?" Rangiku perked up with interest; any information about Hyorinmaru was like gold to her, especially if it wasn't as filtered as the information he gave her personally.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "We studied together at school, plus my dad practically tried to adopt him. He's like the brother I never wanted."

A sly grin formed on the strawberry's lips and Rangiku chuckled in response; she could imagine a sulky teenage Ichigo going through his emo phase watching with annoyance as Isshin squeeze hugged and fussed over a little teenage Hyorinmaru. She tried to think back to all the times she had babysat the Kurosaki-Shiba children and could not recall Ichigo ever having a friend over or spending more than five minutes out of his bedroom; it was frustrating to know both her and Hyorinmaru had spent so much time in that house and yet had never crossed paths. She wished she could have just five minutes back in that house now – surely if she snooped enough, she could find some photos of him and Ichigo and/or Isshin somewhere.

"So what does he look like?" Rangiku asked as casually as possibly, glancing out her window to feign disinterest.

"Nope, nice try," Ichigo laughed, "I know what you're doing and I'm not going to crack that easily."

"What about your loyalty to your manager?" Rangiku whined melodramatically; she'd never actually threaten him with her superiority.

"Not as strong as my loyalty to my CEO," Ichigo grinned at her cheekily, especially when she crossed her arms and huffed theatrically.

The flight was very comfortable. They were given food once the aircraft had completed take-off and Ichigo had fallen asleep straight after that. Rangiku, on the other hand, had been too excited to fall asleep, no matter how comfortable the luxurious leather reclining seats were. It was a long flight, but she had never been on a long haul flight before, especially in a private jet – she wanted to take the time to enjoy it. The stewardess offered her champagne and strawberries for dessert, how could she possibly have said no? She looked through the movie selection, assuming it might have been hand-picked by Hyorinmaru; she did see some of his favourites that he had mentioned in passing conversations but also a lot that looked like Yukio and Rukia might have selected. She didn't think Hyorinmaru had been the one to select all the Seth Rogen movies or the Pitch Perfect trilogy.

At one point, a little pin board of photos at the other end of the jet caught her eye. She got up to investigate. There were indeed many photos pinned to the cork; Rangiku grinned as she scanned them. She recognised Yukio and Rukia instantly in many of the photos, usually pulling some sort of funny face. There were pictures of Ichigo and Isshin too, even a few from when they were obviously in Germany, sitting in front of giant steins of beer and grinning madly. There was even a photo of Ukitake smiling brightly at the camera and holding up a giant lollipop. Rangiku smiled, her heart swelling a little as she recognised all of the people Hyorinmaru mentioned that he was close with; it was obviously a collection of his nearest and dearest, caught on camera during happy moments in their lives. It was incredibly surprising then, when Rangiku spotted a small, frayed picture in the corner of the girl she recognised as Aizen's new assistant and love interest at Game Station, and the previous head of marketing at Zeltrix, Momo Hinamori.

Rangiku couldn't believe her eyes; Momo was basically the joke of Zeltrix, Rangiku's team would often laugh when someone messed up or did something dumb and they called it "Doing a Momo", but there she was, pictured standing alongside an elderly woman with greying dark brown hair like Momo's but with the most vivid teal eyes, and pinned to Hyorinmaru's photo wall. Why was she on the wall? Hyorinmaru had never mentioned her, outside of when it was relevant to her job and when he did speak of her it was with the same indifference he would use talking about any former associate. She recalled Isshin telling her that Momo was the cousin of one of the Zeltrix executives – was she Hyorinmaru's cousin? Or was she a friend, even if it was only before she left? It had to be one or the other because why else would she have kept her job for so long? By all accounts, she'd been terrible at it. Rangiku frowned; was she an ex-girlfriend, perhaps?

Focusing further on the elderly woman in the photograph, Rangiku noticed how petite and frail she was. She wondered then if that was Hyorinmaru's grandmother, the woman who had raised him and of whom he had spoken so highly. Her smile was sweet but tired like she was sick but trying her best to be upbeat for Momo and Hyorinmaru (the photographer, Rangiku assumed). Her eyes though, they pierced Rangiku's soul; they were bright, shining and so full of life that they didn't suit their owner's fragile body. They made her look younger.

The photo was quite a few years old by now, Momo looked to be in her late teens. Rangiku deduced that if that old woman was truly Hyorinmaru's grandmother, it made the most sense that she was also Momo's grandmother and that therefore, Momo and Hyorinmaru were cousins. The strawberry blonde was making some pretty big assumptions but she couldn't work out why else the CEO would keep a photograph of the two in his private jet, pinned to board alongside his closest friends. It was definitely something for her to ask him about later anyway.

In the middle of the board, surrounded by photos of Hyorinmaru's loved ones, was another photo. This time Rangiku was positive that Hyorinmaru himself was the subject of the photo. He stood on the roof of a building, looking out over the skyline of a city she couldn't recognise, the sun in front of him, shining into the camera so that only his silhouette was visible. Rangiku leaned in, adjusting her glasses (she didn't like flying with contacts in), to try and get a better look. It was hard to tell how short he was as he wasn't standing next to anything she could compare heights with. She could only tell that he had a lean frame, similar to Ichigo's but that he wasn't nearly as lanky. He also appeared to have spikey hair, but what colour it was she couldn't tell. She knew she couldn't tell much just from his silhouette but as far as she could tell, he wasn't as ugly as he suggested: he was normally proportioned, slim, no extra and/or missing limbs, a good head of hair. She pulled out her phone and took a quick photo of it before stepping back to snap a picture of the whole board for her to zoom in on later.

Eventually her excitement died down and after a movie, Rangiku managed a short nap in before they were descending into the New York City skyline. It was bright as they flew over the monster-sized city and she bounced excitedly in her seat as she saw the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building; she couldn't wait to start exploring!

They landed and made their way slowly through border control and baggage claim. A driver was waiting for them at the gate and helped them load their suitcases into the trunk. Rangiku had her eyes glued to her window for the whole journey through the city to their hotel; there were so many interesting characters in New York and so many sites to see.

When they arrived, it was dinner time again even though they would have been having breakfast in Tokyo by now. She hoped the jet lag wouldn't be too bad but was glad she didn't sleep much on the jet so that she was tired enough to sleep now on New York's night time.

The hotel was fancy. The staff at the reception desk were very polite and patient with their somewhat broken English; they'd both learned it at school and watched a lot of English-spoken television and films but rarely did they have to use it themselves in conversations. They got their key cards for two rooms on the sixth floor, and headed towards the elevator.

"Let's take the stairs," Ichigo suggested, stretching the skin on his stomach that he had the nerve to call fat, "I've been very slack with my diet this week, I need to make it up in exercise."

"That's six flights, Ichigo!" Rangiku exclaimed, "And we have luggage."

"Come on," Ichigo laughed, picking his suitcase off the ground and holding it up on his shoulder, "I'll race you to the top!"

He was determined to go, and while Rangiku really wished she could just take the lift, there was no way she was going to risk being separated from Ichigo for that long. The conference was to be held in that very hotel so it was highly likely that Gin would be staying there to, although he probably would have booked out the penthouse knowing him.

"Ready, set, go!" Ichigo yelled before taking off towards the stairs.

Rangiku didn't have time to deliberate further, scrambling to grab her suitcase handle and run off after him. They must have looked like children the way they were carrying on but Rangiku couldn't help but acknowledge how much fun she was having, as she powered up the stairs behind Ichigo. However, after the third floor, things took a turn. Rangiku caught up to Ichigo halfway up the fourth flight of stairs. He was huffing and puffing as he leant against the railing for support, sweat forming little beads on his forehead.

"This…" Ichigo heaved loudly, "Was a… bad idea."

"Maybe we… should take a breather," Rangiku managed, just a breathless and so glad she had forgone the heels today.

The two of them spent several minutes sitting in the remarkably clean and beautiful stairwell as they fought to catch their breaths. Rangiku was incredibly glad that everyone else in the hotel were smart enough to take the elevator and therefore not cross paths with them on the stairs. Pulling out her make up pouch from hand bag, Rangiku used a wet wipe to refresh her face and used her mini hair brush to comb through her sweaty hair while Ichigo wiped his face too.

Eventually they got up and slowly made their way up the final flights of stairs like sensible adults. The sixth floor could not have come soon enough and Rangiku wanted to cry happy tears when she saw it.

"It's a lot further up than I thought," Rangiku laughed, taking in her surroundings.

"I don't care if I need to lose weight before the wedding," Ichigo still sounded breathless, "Let's never take those stairs again."

Boy, was that an understatement; Rangiku was never going to take any stairs ever again (a challenge considering she lived on the fifth floor of an apartment building that didn't have a working elevator.)

"Yeah, it wasn't the best idea," she agreed, referencing more to the fact they had tried to race up.

They found their rooms quickly sitting side-by-side, which gave her some reassurance to know Ichigo was only a shout away if Gin turned up at her door. He fiddled with their key cards trying to remember whose was whose before he finally opened the first door.

"That's your room," he announced, holding the door open for her and handing her the correct key card.

Informing her that he would be right next door, they planned to spend the night in his room eating from room service menu after she had settled in. Apparently it was being charged to Hyorinmaru's account and Rangiku hoped that the CEO didn't mind. She would happily reimburse him if necessary since he shouldn't have to pay for everything they did on this trip.

The rooms were rather luxurious; everything seemed bigger here – the bed, the television, the bath tub, the bath towels, the windows, the skyline. Rangiku's version of settling in involved her flopping down on her bed and giggling into the sheets for a few minutes. She was actually in New York for goodness sake! On a most-expenses paid business trip! She'd flown in a bloody private jet! It felt like a dream.

She and Ichigo had indeed ordered room service and spent the night watching Mean Girls (Ichigo's favourite, apparently). She felt safer than she thought she would, and put it down to having Ichigo by her side all evening. However, she felt a little concerned in the hallway alone, even if she was only walking the distance of one room. She wasn't sure how she would go in her room alone tonight though, but at least she would have Hyorinmaru on call if necessary. Last she had heard he was in California on the other side of the country which meant he would only be a couple of hours behind her. He was also aware that Gin would be around and she figured he'd probably want to check in with her every now and again as he had seemed quite worried about it.

Eventually returning to her room, Rangiku made sure to triple check the lock as she closed the door behind her and used the chain latch for extra security. She may or not have even opened up the closet and checked under the bed, just in case.

As she turned to head to the bathroom, a flash of red caught her eyes. Roses! Four beautiful roses sat in a vase on the desk by the window. She hadn't even noticed them when she came in earlier. Scrambling to get across the room and not step on any of her clothes that had somehow already littered the hotel room floor, Rangiku found the little note attached to the ribbon tying the stems together.

' _Enjoy the trip – T.H. x'_

Rangiku grinned; they were a day early but she hadn't been expecting to receive them at all while she was away so it was a major surprised. Once again he signed off with his mystery name initials and another small x, making her heart flutter in her chest. Gods, he was too cute.

She showered quickly and changed into pyjamas. Beyond tired now, but still feeling a little on edge, she pulled out her phone to message the one person she knew would make her feel more at ease.

 **Matsumoto 21:34pm**

 **We arrived safe & sound Captain :D**

 **And thanks for the roses x**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 21:35pm**

 **Good I'm glad :) I hope you had a good flight?**

Rangiku grinned at her phone at his quick response; he must have been waiting for her to check in.

 **Matsumoto 21:36pm**

 **Amazing, Captain! Your jet is so cool. I loved the pictures btw ;)**

She figured that was a good enough segue into asking about the photo of Momo on his board, and it would give her a sense of his mood as she neared one of his personal topics.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 21:39pm**

 **Yes I had almost forgotten about them.**

 **Did any in particular catch your eye?**

Rangiku relaxed a little - so far, he seemed okay. He was replying and didn't seem too closed off...yet. It was early in the conversation so it was hard to tell if he'd back up into his shell again. Sometimes she could tell a conversation was a little difficult for him but he tried really hard to open up with her, other times he'd shut her out completely, like anytime his looks or real identity were brought up.

 **Matsumoto 21:41pm**

 **So many! I love how you've got photos of everyone looking so happy :)**

 **There was one that I did want to ask about though... I recognised Momo in one. I remember her from Game Station and I know she was the one who used to have my job. I was just wondering why she was on the wall... is she related to you or a friend or something?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 21:43pm**

 **She is related to me.**

 **Cousin actually, we were both raised together by my Grandmother.**

Cousin. Rangiku felt her whole body exhale with a rush of relief. She hated it, but she was almost... jealous? She had still held on to the possibility that Momo might have been an ex-girlfriend. Other than her (lack of) brains, Momo did seem like the sort of girl he might go for; Rangiku had only ever had a handful of conversations with the girl but she seemed quiet, sweet and innocent. Rangiku then remembered back to the card he had sent her, signing off 'T.H.' – was the H for Hinamori perhaps? If their fathers were brothers, it was high likely they shared a surname.

Rangiku remembered old lady from the photograph. It made sense that it was the shared grandmother who had raised them both.

 **Matsumoto 21:45pm**

 **Your grandmother looked so cute :) a lot like Momo I noticed, but not her eyes. Her eyes were gorgeous! The teal was beautiful, and it matches the Zeltrix logo.**

Rangiku thought for a beat.

 **Matsumoto 21:45pm**

 **Is that why you chose the colour?**

She wanted to ask about how Momo could have defected to Game Station, her cousin's biggest enemy, but thought she was safer talking about the grandmother for now. If she knew one thing at all about Hyorinmaru, it was that he had really loved his granny.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 21:48pm**

 **Yes, it was why I chose the colour :) very perceptive. It's also the one part of my own appearance I'm least ashamed of. She gifted me with her eyes.**

Rangiku's jaw dropped; he had teal eyes! It was the first thing about his looks that he had discussed with her, apart from his apparent lack of height (but even then he was very vague about just how short). She couldn't comprehend why he thought himself so ugly. As far as she could tell, he had a very normal silhouette that implied a fit body and no balding issues, and now presumably, very beautiful eyes.

 **Matsumoto 21:49pm**

 **I'm not sure how you could ever be ashamed of your looks with eyes so wonderful. Surely people couldn't look anywhere but your eyes? Your grandmother's were piercing, I couldn't look away**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 21:50pm**

 **Thank you Rangiku :)**

 **How are you enjoying New York?**

Another Hyorinmaru-used emoji added to the list. Rangiku grinned at her phone; he was thanking her for a compliment she paid regarding his looks. She hoped that might have meant he was opening up to her a little, especially telling about his eyes. She felt like they were becoming closer and who knows, today they were talking about his eyes but tomorrow they could meeting in person. Well, not literally tomorrow, but hopefully soon in the future. Rangiku could faintly hear the alarm bells going off in her mind, telling her to not get her hopes up about meeting the man, but she snoozed them for now. They were becoming closer, after all.

Rangiku settled in to tell him about all the things she had seen at the airport and the cab ride to the hotel. She was going to tell him about all her plans to visit famous sites and about a Pride Month event Ichigo wanted them to go to. She even knew how she could justify it still being part of the work trip.

The conversation helped relax her, and after a while she became tired enough that she was sure she could fall asleep almost instantly after putting her phone away. Perfect, because she had a big day tomorrow between the conference and the avoiding of a certain ex-boyfriend/boss/rapist.

...

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked for the millionth time that morning.

Rangiku nodded back for the millionth time that morning and sipped on the coffee Ichigo had just handed her. She hoped she was projecting a cool, calm and collected exterior because on the inside she was a nervous wreck and she certainly hadn't trusted her voice to do the answering. She could actually feel Gin's eyes burning into her. She felt like she was completely naked despite the long pant suit she was wearing, like he had x-ray vision and was staring right through her clothes, except it felt like he could see more than her bones.

They were in the middle of the conference, the group collectively taking a lunch break. Platters of sandwiches were put out on the back tables and a tea and coffee station beside that. Rangiku avoided the sandwiches, feeling sick to her stomach with nerves. Ichigo, aware of her romantic past with Gin (although not about the attack), was glued to her side, occasionally glancing towards the Game Station group.

Gin was in the centre, staring at her with angry, lustful eyes, while the other employees she recognised, such as Gin's assistant, Izuru, and her own former assistant, Shuuhei (presumably the one to take over her position), just looked at her with contempt, like they were thinking 'how dare she betray us for Zeltrix'. So far none of them had approached her but she was scared they would at any moment.

"Don't let them get to you," Ichigo rubbed her arm soothingly, "We've got two hours left and then the dinner."

"I know."

"And it's been okay so far, hasn't it?" Ichigo encouraged, "That last speaker was really interesting, wasn't she?"

Rangiku did have to agree with that. The last speaker, Matilda Yates, had been very insightful and had actually sparked an idea in Rangiku's mind for a marketing strategy that would hopefully reach a new market, better reflect the current market and promote Zeltrix's good social image. The speaker – a woman and therefore Rangiku was sure Gin and the rest of the sexist Game Station group would have tuned out the moment she started speaking – spoke about using marketing tactics to reflect yearly world events, such as Easter, Christmas or Chinese New Year by temporarily changing company colours, creating novelty products and so on.

"She was brilliant," Rangiku admitted, a slow smile forming on her lips, "She actually gave me a great idea for a marketing campaign, and I'll need your advice on it."

"Yeah?" Ichigo turned to her, curious.

"Well it was all about reacting to world events," Rangiku started, "So I was thinking we could do Pride Month. Change all the colours to rainbow, produce rainbow editions of each game and maybe even a rainbow console?"

"It would certainly reach out to the younger market," Ichigo murmured thoughtfully, "I used to play video games all the time a teenager. I was so afraid of what people would think if they knew I was gay; it was a good escape from reality."

"Exactly," Rangiku said, "Not only would it promote the company but it will let kids like you know that we support them, that it's okay to be gay."

"That's actually a brilliant idea," Ichigo beamed at her, "Hyorinmaru will be a hundred percent behind it too. He's always supported my romantic choices."

"I hope so," Rangiku said excitedly, "I was even hoping to convince him to contribute a portion of the sales to a charity that helps out young LGBT teens."

"He'll definitely go for that," Ichigo grinned, "You're a genius, Rangiku, a literal genius."

He pulled her in for a hug, the strawberry's arms strong and warm around her. She couldn't imagine Gin being happy about another guy hugging her like this, even if they did wear a rainbow 'Pride Month 2018' wrist band, but Rangiku leaned further into the hold, feeling warmer and safer than she had all day.

Two hours and a dinner left.

...

The conference dinner party had been a disaster.

Rangiku could have predicted that and definitely should have, but like the silly girl she was, she had held on to too much hope that Ichigo's presence and the presence of many others would have been enough to Gin from approaching her or making a scene.

How wrong she had been.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked once again, and once again Rangiku nodded and sipped on her drink.

The champagne was becoming warm and flat as she twirled it idly in the glass, not drinking much. She still felt sick, and wasn't sure she was going to be able to eat much dinner. In all fairness, she could have easily skipped out on the social element of the conference but she was also really hoping to get in a conversation with Matilda Yates, the speaker who had given her Pride Month idea. She wanted to run the idea past her and see what she thought, and also to thank her for the inspiration and ask her how she became such a successful woman in the field, but Matilda had a big group of ladies around her who were likely asking the same question and didn't look like they were prepared to wrap that conversation up anytime soon.

Rangiku and Ichigo had, however, managed to converse with the Minendo and Pamsung representatives earlier on in the evening and they were all great people. Sandy and Sharon from Pamsung had her in stitches, so much so that she almost forgot Gin was still eyeing her across the room. Alas, the conversation was killed when Brian from Pear came over and picked a fight with Sandy over which of their companies made the better smart phone; Pear's uPhone X, or Pamsung's Universe P9.

"Nanao was right about the dress," Ichigo observed, looking her up and down, "It really does bring out your eyes, you look beautiful."

It was a distraction technique and Rangiku knew it but she took the compliment anyway.

"Thank you," Rangiku murmured, "Although you're not a fashion-loving gay."

Ichigo grinned and winked at her before polishing of his wine and plucking another off a passing tray. The dress was okay, she figured. She had loved it before, but now with Gin staring at her the way he was, she wanted to put on a NASA Space Suit… or a potato sack, anything to make her less attractive to him.

Becoming rather skilled in the art of avoiding eye contact with creepy male predators across the room, Rangiku turned her focus to Matilda, watching as more and more women seemed to flog her with questions. She still hoped she might get in a quick conversation with the woman or maybe even her business card, but by the looks of things, she was going to have to make her way to that side of the room to talk to the woman – the side of the room Gin was currently on.

Ichigo moved around her, suddenly blocking Gin out of her peripheral vision.

"So tomorrow," he began, not acknowledging what was an obvious move to protect her from Gin's stare (not that she wasn't grateful), "I was thinking we get most of the sightseeing done. Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square, all that, and then we can do the Pride Island thing on Friday, and shopping and food on Saturday. Did I tell you about that food tour I saw online?"

Ichigo began to ramble on and on about the food tour he had heard about, while Rangiku nodded along, only half listening. She felt bad, especially has he seemed so excited for it, having organised to this week to be his last diet-free week before the wedding at the end of the year, but she was feeling even sicker now. Unbeknownst to him, she had clocked Gin moving back in her peripheral vision, heading towards the bar at the back of the room. Keeping her head straight on, focused on staring into Ichigo's brown eyes and smiling as he spoke, Rangiku seriously considered using the sick excuse to leave the dinner and lock herself away in her room. She would have to wait until Gin was distracted enough to look away for a minute so she could escape as she was not certain he wouldn't follow her if she tried to walk out, even if she had Ichigo by her side. She didn't feel it, but she was probably much safer in the crowded room with plenty of witnesses.

Ichigo soon became distracted as the buffet was put out and a minute later they were being told the buffet was ready if they wanted to get some dinner. Rangiku really didn't want dinner but Ichigo dragged her over anyway. They got their food and returned to their table, Ichigo stuffing his face almost instantly while Rangiku idly pushed food around her plate with a fork instead of actually eating it.

Suddenly New York had seemed like a bad idea. She just wanted to be home.

Hot breath tickled her ear and Gin's voice followed.

"Good evening, Ran-chan."

Rangiku swallowed her yelp but jumped up from her seat, Ichigo following suit beside her, no longer interested in his food.

There in front of her was the man of her nightmares in all his terror. Twisted, toothless grin, squinted eyes and flat silver-purple hair which had grown since the last time she saw him and now covered parts of his eyes.

"I've missed you, Ran-chan," Gin's murmured stepping closer and forcing her back a step, "Why don't we go catch up? I'm sure the Game Station boys would love to see you."

His words were menacing, and Rangiku sunk back. Her mind was going blank, and her body frozen. Vaguely aware that Ichigo was holding her close, Rangiku felt like she was having an out of body experience, like she was watching the scene – Gin towering over her cowering body – from somewhere else in the crowd. She felt like she was screaming 'Stop! Run!' but no one could hear her.

Something hit the back her thighs and she registered that Gin had backed them up against the table. He moved forward again but this time Rangiku couldn't back up any further, Ichigo beside her in the same position.

"Back off, Gin!" Ichigo's familiar voice seemed so muffled and far away, "She's not interested."

"Naw, she's interested," Gin loomed over her, the only man who could make her feel short, as his arm began to wrap around her, "Isn't that right, Ran-chan?"

She felt his fingers ghost the fabric covering her ass and the world stopped turning.

Her heart stopped beating.

Her lungs stopped taking in oxygen.

Her blood stopped cold.

Clocks stopped ticking.

Everything stopped.

And then everything sped up.

She wasn't sure what happened. It was like she had blacked out. Although, she noted vaguely, she was still standing up right.

There was a flash of black and white, followed by deep red.

A yelp of pain followed by several swear words.

A deadpan apology in a voice that seemed oddly familiar.

An exclaim of a strange word by her second in charge.

"Rangiku!" Ichigo called out to her, "Ran, we've gotta go. We have to get out of here."

Ichigo was pulling her and her legs moved along automatically. People were staring and whispering. Even Matilda's attention was caught.

It still felt like she wasn't breathing but she must have been. They were close to the main doors when Rangiku glanced over her shoulder; chaos had erupted around Gin. He was covered in red wine and cursing profusely, literally pushing away the number of waiters that had converged on him with cloths, fresh wine and first aid kits.

A sharp tug from Ichigo pulled her into the elevator, the strawberry pushing the level six button followed by the 'close door' button in rapid repetition. The door closed, the elevator moved and suddenly reality came crashing back.

"Fuck!" Ichigo swore, "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

The elevator walls were mirrors and Rangiku stood facing them. She saw herself from all angles; she looked normal, albeit a little pale, and yet something was drastically different in her appearance. Like some wire hadn't been connected properly; she worked but not very well. There was a splash of wine on her dress too, but she didn't care, she wasn't going to wear it again anyway. If she burned it in her room tonight, would the hotel smoke alarms go off?

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a deserted hallway. Ichigo guided her out and towards her room. Once inside, Rangiku started ripping off her dress, not caring if Ichigo was in the room.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded automatically as she had done all day, ignoring the disbelieving look she was getting in return as she picked her dress off the floor and dumped it in the nearby trash can.

"It's okay not to be okay, Ran," Ichigo spoke softly and slowly, carefully choosing his words, "I don't want you bottling this up, you can trust me."

He handed her the fluffy hotel robe which she shrugged on before sitting on the floor beside her suitcase.

"I'm fine," Rangiku muttered, reaching for the trousers she had worn earlier that day and left on the floor after the conference, "I just want to go home."

"What, no!" Ichigo exclaimed, dropping down beside her and snatching the trousers out of her hands as she folded them, "We can't go home yet, you haven't visited all the places you wanted to see yet."

"I'm not asking you to come home with me," Rangiku hissed, pulling the trousers out of his hands.

"We're a team, Rangiku," he replied, upset, "Wherever you go, I go."

"I don't want you to give up your time here," Rangiku sighed, folding the trousers and placing them in her suitcase.

"I don't want you to give up your time here," Ichigo repeated her, "You were so excited to come to New York. All you've talked about is sightseeing and going to watch a Broadway show since arriving."

Unable to reply, Rangiku clenched her eyes shut. She could feel the tears coming but she didn't want to cry again. She just wanted to pretend none of this had ever happened. She wanted to go home and get back to her work. She wanted to witness Ichigo's diet-related breakdowns and laugh along with Renji. She wanted to have back and forth banter with her mystery CEO who was becoming less and less of an enigma and more human. She didn't want to be sitting on a hotel floor, crying about something that had happened last year.

"I booked tickets for Wicked," Ichigo murmured and when she opened her eyes he was showing her a booking confirmation on his phone, "As a surprise for you, instead of the food tour. We can dress up. I'll be Elphaba and you can be Glinda? Or the other way around..."

"I'm Glinda," Rangiku said immediately, and Ichigo smiled at her.

"See?" Ichigo nudged her with his elbow gently, "Don't let this shitty experience tonight ruin your trip."

"I'm just… done, you know?" Rangiku shook her head, "I'm so sick of feeling scared all the time and crying all the time. I want to be the girl that wears what she wants and does what she wants but everything I have done on this trip has been based around the idea that Gin could turn up at any moment. I hate being restricted all the time."

The tears had come now, which she wiped away furiously with the back of her hand. She wanted to calm down but she only heard her voice rising.

"I hate being a woman and looking like this," she spat, gesturing to her whole body, "He rapes me and yet I'm the one who has to change? I had to leave my job and move across the city, I have to dress 'appropriately' all the damn time and I have to have you glued to my side every second of this fucking conference. For what? It didn't stop him! He still backed us into a table and made a grab for my ass."

She ignored Ichigo's look of surprise when she dropped the R-bomb and the way his jaw clenched as the news sunk in.

"And at the end of the day, he gets to go home feeling great about himself," Rangiku continued, voice starting to waver and break, "But me? I go home and hate myself, and think about all the things I could have done to avoid it, about how it's all my fault. It's not fair."

She broke at the point, tears like waterfalls on her cheeks. Ichigo wrapped around her and pulled her into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Rangiku," he murmured, "It's not fair and it's not your fault. None of it's been your fault."

It felt like it though. She shouldn't have dated her boss. She shouldn't have broken up with said boss. She shouldn't have rejected him when he begged her to take him back. She shouldn't have worn such tight fitting suits to the office. She shouldn't have been alone in his office. She shouldn't have left her phone at her desk in case she needed to call for help.

"I can hear you thinking," Ichigo murmured into her hair, "Stop it. You're not to blame, he is."

He kept repeating that, over and over again, rocking her gently from where they sat, huddled on the hotel carpet by a half-packed suitcase.

Eventually her tears dried up. She still didn't quite believe what Ichigo was trying to tell her but it felt nice to hear it anyway. She decided to forgo the packing for a minute in favour of a nice, hot shower. Ichigo helped her up and gave her another tight squeeze for releasing her to the privacy of the bathroom.

A shower had been a good idea. Slowly, the shock and emotion began to wear off and she started feeling more like herself. When she got out and dressed, returning to the bedroom, Ichigo had pulled back her bed covers for her and propped up the pillows. He even had a steaming cup of tea waiting for her. He was such a cutie, Rangiku thought, she was glad to have him in her life.

"It's chamomile," the orange-haired sweetheart told her, "My mum used to make it for me as a kid all the time."

"Thanks," Rangiku murmured, trying her best to smile despite the exhaustion dominating her body.

She climbed onto the bed, sitting upright and pulling the covers up to her hips. Ichigo sat on the edge of her bed, his weight beside her warm and comforting.

"If you really want to go home, we can," Ichigo murmured, "Hyorinmaru will give us his jet again or he'll find a way to get us on the first possible flight tomorrow."

Rangiku looked down at her tea, the steam wafting up in a graceful pattern and warming her face.

"I want to stay," she admitted, "But I can't see Gin again. I'm scared to even leave this room in case we bump into him somewhere."

"He's flying out tomorrow evening," Ichigo told her, "I overheard that blond dude talking about it. Apparently they have to check out by eleven though so they were talking about going to some fine dining place at the Rockefeller Centre for lunch before heading to the airport."

A weight in her stomach lightened a little at the news, like the sense of dread she had been carrying all day was finally lifting off.

"Are you sure?" Rangiku asked, although it did sound similar to how Gin's business trip itineraries usually went; arrive, conference, fancy meal, leave, not bearing to leave the Game Station head office for too long.

"Positive," Ichigo nodded firmly, "We could stay in for breakfast. I'll come here and we can order room service, and then in the afternoon when he's gone from the hotel and if you're feeling up to it, we can go out and explore the city."

"That sounds okay," she shrugged. She was feeling a little better but was becoming too exhausted to think straight, and she didn't want to commit to the plan if she still felt shit in the morning, "I'll sleep on it."

"Good idea," Ichigo nodded, "We can make a decision tomorrow."

The strawberry moved to get up, but Rangiku caught his wrist.

"How did Gin get covered in wine?" she asked suddenly, unsure as to why she needed to know but it was the part of her memory that was the haziest.

Ichigo seemed to hesitate a little, causing her to frown at his uncertainty.

"A waiter… _tripped_ ," he said slowly, somewhat unsure of himself, "I think, but it all happened so fast."

Rangiku could only nod; the whole moment was a blur to her right now.

"Thanks," she said softly, "For everything tonight."

"Hey, what's family for, right?" Ichigo smiled at her, "Do you want me to stay in here tonight? I could grab my bedding from my room and sleep on the floor."

She shook her head quickly; the last thing she wanted after everything she had put him through that evening was to put him out of his own bed.

"No thank you, I'll be fine," she sipped on her tea as if to reassure him, "I'll be okay, I'm so tired I think I'll just fall straight to sleep."

Leaning forward, Ichigo kissed her on the forehead before getting up and heading to the door. His hand paused as it reached the handle, something on the other side of the room catching his eye. The blonde followed his line of vision to the four roses sitting neatly in a vase on the desk by the window. It was silent for several passing beats as he stared at the flowers, Rangiku could practically see the cogs turning in his mind as he worked it out.

"It's Hyorinmaru," he stated, turning to her, one hand still on the door handle and the other gesturing to the flowers, "Isn't it?"

"T.H.," Rangiku corrected, a slight grin forming on her lips behind her steaming mug.

The strawberry raised a surprised and somewhat playful eyebrow, but he said nothing further about it, murmuring only a quick 'sleep well, call me if you need' before slipping out the door. The heavy hotel door shut with an assuring click but the door handle moved down and back up as Ichigo seemed to double check from the outside that he had indeed locked the door. When she heard his footsteps retreat, she quickly jumped out of bed to lock the chain latch, just to be safe, even though she knew the hotel would never give out her room number to Gin if he tried to track her down.

Climbing back in bed, Rangiku ignored the rest of her cooling tea, pulling up her covers. She was exhausted but still unsure of how she would go trying to get to sleep – or trying to stay asleep – but she refused to think of Gin. She was going to do her best to put him behind her; it wouldn't be easy but she had to try. Instead, brought out her phone, opening her camera roll and finding the picture of Hyorinmaru's photograph from his jet's photo board; a dark silhouette in front of a beautiful sunset. She thought of messaging but in her state, it was probably best to wait until morning, she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.

It was a mental image of him and her together on that very roof staring at a future sunset that helped get to sleep that night.


	4. Tosh

Sleeping last night had not been as simple a task as she had hoped, although not really expected, it would be. She had gotten to sleep initially rather easily, but it didn't take long until the nightmares kicked in, and then it was just an endless cycle of tossing and turning, going to sleep, seeing Gin's face, waking back up and tossing and turning once again. On more than one occasion she had brought up her skype to message Hyorinmaru, but something kept holding her back, something she couldn't quite place.

The scene kept playing over and over again in her mind, slowly more and more details coming clearer in her mind. The bad – Gin's champagne breath on her skin, the smell of his cologne, and the good – Ichigo's protective aura beside her, the splash of wine and smash of glass that forced Gin off her. Ichigo had told her a waiter had tripped. She wanted to thank that man for what he had done for her. He might not have known what his accident was breaking up, and he might have even gotten in trouble for it, but he had saved her.

As the dawn lightened the sky, Rangiku's thoughts had been completely overcome by trying to remember that waiter. She had been so focused on Gin the whole evening, she hadn't even noticed the wait staff. She thought and thought, trying to remember any little detail.

Eventually, it hit her.

Tosh.

Ichigo's exclamation at the incident. Rangiku was certain she hadn't misheard, and was even surer that it actually meant something. She knew for a fact that Ichigo's only languages were Japanese and English, and that 'Tosh' wasn't a word in either. It was, however, the first syllable to a lot of Japanese names, both first and surnames. If that were indeed true then Ichigo had known the waiter who had saved her! The fact that the strawberry had been so cagey about what had happened implied that he didn't want to tell her that he knew the waiter. Why? For what reason had Ichigo decided to keep the man's identity a secret? It wasn't like he was secretly Hyorinmaru or-

That's it! The waiter _had_ been Hyorinmaru. That explained everything! The 'T' in T.H. was for Tosh! He had been there to protect her!

Rangiku sat up in bed, immediately untired and so full of questions. She pulled out her phone and began to type-

Her fingers hovered over the touch keyboard, frozen. She had been about to type in Gin's name when she was suddenly overcome with a myriad of flashbacks; lots of flashbacks, from the incident in his office to the incident last night. The sickening feeling her stomach came crashing back, causing her to lie back down and curl into a little ball.

She just needed a minute. One minute to get her head around it all, one minute to process her close call with Gin last night and one minute to bring herself to type it into her phone. If she was wrong about Hyorinmaru being the waiter, she was going to have to explain the whole story again to her boss and she just needed a minute to prepare of that. What did she even say? How could she ask her questions without him running off scared?

…

At around 9:30am, Ichigo had knocked on her door. She let him in and they discussed the pros and cons of them staying in New York for the rest of the trip, as opposed to leaving early as she had wanted last night. Eventually the pros won out and Rangiku agreed to stay, under the conditions that they waited inside their rooms until eleven when Gin was supposed to be checked out by. The strawberry agreed and they both jumped back in her bed, turning on the television and flicking through the room service breakfast menu.

"Was Hyorinmaru here last night?" Rangiku asked after Ichigo got off the phone from ordering their breakfast, "As the waiter?"

"What?" Ichigo turned to her, deep frown, "No?"

 _He was good,_ Rangiku would give him that. So far there were no tell-tale signs that he was lying, seemingly genuinely confused.

"Is his real name 'Tosh'?" Rangiku continued, unfazed.

"Huh?" Ichigo looked perplexed, although his normally rosy cheeks did pale a little. _Got him._

"Tosh," Rangiku repeated, "That's what you called the waiter last night."

"I said… 'gosh'," Ichigo said, although it did sound like he was asking her a question more than telling her an answer, "It's a popular exclamation in English."

"You said 'Tosh'," Rangiku ignored him, "To the waiter. Why would you say that unless it was his name? Why would you lie about it later if you weren't protecting the waiter's identity? Why would you protect the waiter's identity if he wasn't Hyorinmaru?"

Ichigo's jaw was dropped as he stared at her, no words forming.

"Hyorinmaru whose first initial is a T," Rangiku continued her interrogation when Ichigo didn't step in, "T for Tosh, am I right?"

"Ran, stop," Ichigo cut in finally, "I said gosh, not Tosh. Tosh is not what the T stands for in his name. I think you just wanted to believe that so you misheard."

"I'm not crazy," Rangiku said, voice stern and raising a challenging eyebrow to her second in charge.

"I'm not saying that," Ichigo murmured, "I'm just saying that you're trying too hard to figure this whole thing out. Hyorinmaru doesn't want to be found and he won't be. You're only hurting yourself if you keep going like this."

Looking away, Rangiku didn't mention it again. She was still positive she was right but Ichigo's words also hit a little too close to home. Every time Hyorinmaru pulled away from her or refused to give up some sort of truth, it hurt. It really hurt. But then they would have a good conversation where he would offer some information, such as his eye colour or sending her roses with T.H. as the signature, and her hopes couldn't help but rise.

Eventually their breakfast came and they sat side by side on her bed eating it. Ichigo had a map out of the city and was circling all the places they wanted to visit to try and figure out the best plan of action for them. He asked her questions about what she wanted to do but Rangiku's mind was only half there, the other half still focussed on Ichigo's earlier words.

' _Hyorinmaru doesn't want to be found and he won't be'_ – that certainly had brought her mood down but she was positive he was wrong. She and Hyorinmaru were really close now; he opened up to her about a lot of things and turned to her for advice when he couldn't turn to his friends. If her theory was correct, he had even dressed as a waiter to protect her from Gin. That told Rangiku that he did want to meet her. Maybe he was still nervous, but he had risked a lot to do what he did last night and if that was true, why would he have risked everything if perhaps he didn't mind being seen by her?

Suddenly her phone buzzed, shocking her out of her thoughts.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:12am**

 **How is everything going?**

Rangiku stared at the message in her skype inbox.

She was equal parts happy to see a message from him and frustrated that she still didn't know what to say to him. All morning she had wanted to message him but every time she had typed a message, she had deleted it, not comfortable with her words. At first she had wanted to message him to tell him about the Gin incident, only holding back because… well, she didn't want to talk about the Gin incident. That was before her 'Tosh' theory though, and since she'd had that thought, she couldn't shake it. She was almost positive he was the waiter last night who had thrown wine all over Gin before disappearing faster than lightning, despite Ichigo's strong denials of such a claim. The strawberry was acting suspicious though, constantly trying to distract her with their room service breakfast.

She hit it the only way she knew how – straight on.

 **Matsumoto 10:15pm**

 **That depends, is the T in T.H. for Tosh?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:18am**

 **That um, would be correct.**

 _Oh._

 _Well._

That made things even more confusing for her. On one level she was excited to have figured out his first name (although likely a nickname as it seemed to missing a syllable or two), and happy that he was honest about it. Alternatively, she was again disappointed that she didn't get to see him despite the fact that he was right there in the room with her. She had been so focused on Gin and the Game Station crew she hadn't really checked out much of the rest of the room. She certainly hadn't thought to check out the waiters. The thought that she might have actually seen him in passing and not noticed killed her. There was also the part of her that was just grateful he had been there. He had protected her from Gin like he promised, and if she hadn't been so caught up in being sexually assaulted, she probably would have found him throwing wine on the sleazebag hilarious

 **Matsumoto 10:20am**

 **Well then you know how things are going.**

 **Brilliant wine toss, btw**

 **And thanks**

She threw in a wine emoji and a heart emoji to lighten things up.

She also punched Ichigo hard in the arm.

"What was that for?" Ichigo hissed from the other side of her bed, clutching his arm.

"Hyorinmaru's name is Tosh and he was the waiter last night, _Liar_ ," Rangiku muttered, flashing him her phone so he could see what their shared CEO had just admitted.

Turning away grumbling, Ichigo muttered about the 'short shit putting him through hell for nothing'.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:21am:**

 **Thanks, I wasn't planning on doing anything, just keeping an eye on Gin, but when he... well yeah I had to intervene. I'm sorry if any wine got on you or you got hurt in anyway it all happened so fast.**

"Was he staying here then?" Rangiku asked Ichigo, showing him the message.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied, apparently seeing no need to lie again and seeming a little pissed off that he had been ratted out so quickly, "He was in the room next door."

The strawberry gestured to the wall opposite the wall he and Rangiku shared.

"What?!" Rangiku exclaimed, pulling the bed covers away and half stepping out when Ichigo pulled her back.

"He left last night," Ichigo told her, eyes doing that annoying sympathetic thing, "He's not there."

Rangiku sighed, somewhat sulky, and pulled the covers back over her. She picked up her phone again and saw a second message from the elusive CEO.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:23am:**

 **So you've seen me?**

Part of her wanted to lie and say yes as she hoped that would mean he would give up the fight against meeting her in person, but the responsible side of her told her to be honest, as he had been with her. Also she couldn't risk him asking her questions about his appearance that she couldn't actually answer, blowing her lie immediately.

 **Matsumoto 10:24am**

 **I wish. I'm still trying to remember what happened tbh. Everything happened so fast.**

She still felt like she had blacked out or something, but slowly she was beginning to piece things together, like when she recalled the voice of the waiter apologising (although not very convincingly), she had been so sure it was his, and then she had remembered Ichigo calling out 'Tosh'. It was slowly coming together, but the problem was that she actually had to sit and think about what happened to remember it, but she really didn't want to sit and think about it.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:25am:**

 **Well that's good. It's probably not an event you want to remember.**

It definitely wasn't an event she wanted to remember, but seeing him was something she needed to remember. There was no more denying, she had fallen down the rabbit hole again in falling for her boss, but this time it was different. This time, the man she had fallen for was kind and caring, he trusted her, he wasn't sexist and he wasn't about to assault her. How could he when he was never in Japan?

 **Matsumoto 10:29am**

 **Hmm well I'm done thinking about Gin. Hit me with a new topic: what are you doing today? I assume you haven't escaped the country yet.**

There was just a touch of bitterness in her thoughts as she wrote that last message. They had literally shared a wall and she hadn't known. She had almost marched right over there before Ichigo told her he had left after she had gone to bed, claiming to be avoiding the staff after the wine incident. She had felt a little stab in her heart, feeling as though it was her that he was really running from.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:34am**

 **No not yet, I'm attending an event tomorrow so most of today is preparation for that.**

Rangiku tilted her head. So he was planning to stay in New York for a few more days. _Highly interesting._ Funnily enough, she and Ichigo were also planning to stay in New York for a few more days. _How fascinating._

 **Matsumoto 10:35am**

 **Oh? Which event? Ichigo and I are going sightseeing today (work related, of course). I've heard the view from the top of the Empire State Building is just wonderful, especially at sunset. Have you been up there before?**

She wanted to know how far she could push it. He had literally been in the same room as her now and thrown wine all over her ex-boyfriend to protect her, for goodness sake. If she didn't know him any better, she would think he might even have feelings for her. Gods, she wanted that to be true. She wondered if she could entice him to following her again, because this time she would certainly be looking for him. She had an eye colour and a general height range to go on; she was in with a shot.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:38am:**

 **I'd tell you but I'm then worried you'll find me. I want to be clear, I came to keep an eye on you, to protect you but my intention was to never have you see me.**

 **Not that I'd ever have stood by and watch Gin do what he was about to do without intervening, Ichigo there or not. Going back, I'd do what I did over and over again even if you did spot me.**

"Gotta pee," Rangiku said, only reading the first sentence and knowing it was going to be a shit message.

She ignored Ichigo's disgruntled yelp as she literally crawled over him, almost knocking his breakfast burger over, in order to get to her bathroom. Once inside her ensuite, Rangiku felt her phone buzz again.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 10:39am:**

 **But that being said, you didn't see me and I don't have any intention of changing that. I still wish to remain hidden. I hope you understand?**

She was right, they were shit messages. They were shit because they made her feel like shit. Why was he so hell bent on keeping them apart? Surely there had to be more than his insecurities around his looks at play here? That or he had some kind of extreme anxiety, but he always sounded so confident on the phone, it was hard to imagine. Regardless, it made it seem like he was avoiding her because maybe there was something he didn't like about her? Maybe he was just using his looks as an excuse to continue avoiding her.

Whatever the case, Rangiku felt her heart sink. It was like one step forward, three steps back with this man. She was putting in so much effort, trying to show how she was more than just a dumb, stereotypical blonde who wouldn't associate with any man who wasn't tall, tanned and muscular. She tried to tell him she didn't care about looks; she only cared about what a person held in their heart.

So either she was wrong, or he didn't believe her. Either way, it fucking hurt. Especially since she deemed them such close friends and yet he wouldn't meet her half way.

Sighing internally, Rangiku put her phone away, unable to reply right now. She flushed the toilet despite not using it (for Ichigo's benefit) and washed her hands probably a touch longer than necessary.

Exiting the bathroom, Rangiku moved to her suitcase, pulling out fresh clothes.

"We have to wait 'til eleven," Ichigo reminded her, not looking away from his television goddess Ellen DeGeneres on the screen, "If we want to avoid uhhh… certain people checking out."

Clenching her eyes shut, Rangiku did not need to run into that man today. She needed fresh air though, to get her brain cells together enough to form a polite reply to her CEO.

"Well, I need to get dressed and put my makeup on," Rangiku muttered to herself more than anything, "I guess I'll straighten my hair today as well."

She gathered her clothes and returned to the bathroom which already held her makeup bag and hair straightener. It would take her around twenty minutes to get ready anyway but she was happy to slow it down so she could process her thoughts.

Eventually eleven hit and Ichigo ducked off to his room to quickly change. Rangiku sat on her bed, tying the shoelaces of her boots slower than humanly possible, her phone sitting unlocked beside her. She had decided on the only reply she could give him that was polite. It wasn't even remotely true to her real feelings but she wasn't about to burn their friendship bridge just yet. Maybe he just needed a little more convincing?

 **Matsumoto 11:01am**

 **Yes, I understand.**

…

New York City was amazing. It really was a concrete jungle; absolute madness at every turn with more yellow taxis than people (which was saying something because there were a lot of people in the city) and sky scrapers that no tree could ever really replicate. Rangiku and Ichigo took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, the strawberry man taking countless pictures and selfies. Rangiku wanted to join in and enjoy her time in the incredible Big Apple but her mind was busy elsewhere, working out what to do about her Tosh/Hyorinmaru problem.

 _A little more convincing_ , that was her last hopeful though. She figured if she could prove once and for all that she didn't care what he looked like, and then perhaps he would come around. If he didn't, she would know that it was nothing to do with looks, and more that he didn't want her, but Rangiku pushed that thought aside for now, and deal with it only if Tosh didn't respond well to her plan: her idea was that maybe if she tracked him down and secretly saw him in person, then he wouldn't able to hide himself anymore. The jig would be up, and resigned to the fact she knew what he looked like, hopefully he would just meet up with her. Maybe he would even be less nervous.

He was a hard man to catch though, since they were rarely in the same country. Today and tomorrow, however, they were in the same country; furthermore, they were in the same city. This could be the one chance she had, the next not being until Ichigo's wedding, if the man even showed up. Rangiku couldn't wait that long though, so if she was going to track him down and see him in person, she had to do so in the next two days.

But how?

She had no idea where he was staying now, and even Ichigo didn't know (and he had his truthful look on this time). The only thing she knew about his plans was that he would be attending an event tomorrow night. An event could mean anything, but knowing him it was likely work or gaming related. She knew he often attended Yukio's events as well, which further narrowed things down.

It took Rangiku all of five minutes on her phone during the ferry ride back to the city to work out which event Hyorinmaru would likely be attending. She found a gaming convention in the city that was the very next night and guess who was featured to be on a panel? None other than Hyorinmaru's best friend, Yukio Hans. Furthermore, Zeltrix was to have a stand at the convention, which actually might be a good tool for her to bring Ichigo along without rousing too much suspicion. Now all she needed was a disguise.

"Hey Ichigo," she called out to the strawberry, who was holding his phone very carefully against the ferry hand rail, capturing a time lapse video of the ride, "Which gaming character do I look most like?"

Ichigo was a big gamer, always had been. He knew it all; the games, the storylines, the characters, everything.

"Joanna Dark from Perfect Dark," Ichigo answered quickly without even a glance in her direction, "But you have longer hair."

Rangiku grinned; obviously her second in charge had thought this through before, leaving no room for hesitation in his answer. She quickly googled the character and nodded to herself. It was possible, and what was better, the character's costume wasn't overly sexualised like many other female gaming characters, especially if she kept the zip up over her breasts. She would have to have shorter hair though, but luckily Rangiku was in the mood for a bit of a change. Gin loved her long hair and it was time to move on from him. She was, however, not going to put that stupid light blonde streak through her hair, it was time to embrace the red.

"What about you, Ichigo?" Rangiku asked, "Who do you look most like?"

…

Suspicious of her intentions but eventually agreeing (after some light bullying), Ichigo emerged from dressing rooms in his cosplay outfit.

Rangiku grinned and wolf whistled at the strawberry, who then struck a suggestive pose. Although the blush in his cheeks indicated mild embarrassment, Rangiku knew the man was actually quite excited to be wearing a gaming cosplay and heading to the convention.

She had lied a little, and felt awful, but after he lied to her about 'Tosh', Rangiku felt like she could afford a little white lie here. She had told him about the convention tonight, saying that she wanted to attend to do some market research, surveying different attendees on whether or not they would like to see Zeltrix promote a Pride Month campaign. That wasn't the lie though; she did think that might be a handy thing to do while they were there. The lie came in when Ichigo asked if their attendance had anything to do with the fact Hyorinmaru could potentially be attending, given that he had also looked up the convention and saw Yukio's name advertised.

"I don't think he's attending," Rangiku had said when asked, "He said he was staying in if we were going."

"So Hyorinmaru knows we're going?" Ichigo asked, narrowing his eyes at her, "And he's just not going to come?"

Shrugging, Rangiku lied again, "I told him I wanted to do some market research for the American target audience and he agreed it was a good idea. He also said you could catch up with Yukio if we had time since he wouldn't be attending."

Ichigo's face brightened dramatically at her words, which only made Rangiku feel worse about it. If there was a way she could help the boys meet up without risking her cover, she was all for it, although at this point she was not sure how possible it would be.

Rangiku stood, ignoring the slight squeak of her leather costume, and met Ichigo over by the mirror, standing side by side.

"We look so hot," Rangiku giggled, "I've never cosplayed before."

Grinning, Ichigo took out his phone and snapped a mirror selfie of them both.

"I haven't since I was a teenager," Ichigo told her, "I've missed it."

They both got changed out of their costumes and paid for them, walking out of the store with two giant bags. They still had a few hours to go and fortunately their costumes were very easy to change in and out of – even if Rangiku was going to have to give up breathing for the night.

"Did I tell you your new hair looks amazing?" Ichigo said as they stood by a hotdog cart, trying not to get ketchup on their face, hands and clothes as they ate; bucket list item no. 43 – eat NYC hotdog from street cart: complete.

"Multiple times," Rangiku laughed, "But thank you."

Yesterday afternoon, after the ferry ride back from the Statue of Liberty, Rangiku had decided to get an impromptu haircut. Her hair used to hang around her waist in length, and be slightly wavy that straightening it made a somewhat noticeable difference. Now, her fresh cut look had her hair sitting nicely around her shoulders, far more wavy than before, layered to frame her face stylishly. It was stupid, but it made her feel, for the first time in a long time, free from Gin and her previous life at Game Station. She felt different, if not a little empowered, and it made her happy.

She had taken her first photo opportunity to show off her new hair at sunset, when Ichigo and Rangiku rode the elevator to the top of the Empire State Building. She now had a new profile picture for her social media accounts, but she would wait until she got home to Tokyo to upload them.

Overall, their time on top of NYC's tallest building had been bitter sweet. The view was breathtaking, the sunset was gorgeous, but it also made both of them a little sad. It was an incredibly romantic place to be, they even saw a man propose to his girlfriend while they were up there.

"I wish Renji was here," Ichigo pouted, watching the joyous scene as the woman said yes before jumping into her new fiancé's arms, "He would love it up here."

"Well you'll just have to come back with him then," Rangiku suggested cheerfully, patting her friend on the back.

In truth, the whole place made her feel a little lonely too. She had felt lonely for a long time now. Even while with Gin, she felt lonely because he never really understood her. Then the incident happened and she had isolated herself from many people, including her friends and family. She still talked to them so they didn't think anything was wrong but inside, she was harbouring a big secret and she'd had nobody to discuss it with. She also lived alone, and she found nothing worse than trying to sleep in an empty bed, no form of warmth or life beside her.

Things had changed a little since Hyorinmaru came into her life, but not entirely. She still went to bed alone, still cooked for one, and still had no one but a blank skype icon to tell about her day. It was hard having a device and an app for a best friend. It was worse having feelings for it, especially when the man behind the messages downright refused to meet her in person.

She imagined him up here with her, on top of a beautiful city. She imagined his arms around her waist and head resting against her shoulder as they took in the view. Rangiku bet that if they both sat down, side by side, she probably wouldn't be that much taller than him since most of her height was in her legs.

It had been in that moment that she had decided that she had to take her chances at the convention. Even if he got mad at her at first, even if Ichigo felt a little betrayed, Rangiku needed to take this chance. She was feeling such a strong emotion that she would be lying if she didn't call it love and she would spend years regretting it if she didn't at least try.

…

Arriving at the convention a little late, Rangiku was pleased to find that everyone was well and truly into the swing of things by the time they got there. It was very busy, and almost everyone was in some form of cosplay meaning that no one would pay her much attention, other than maybe to check out her costume if they knew her character. Beside her, Ichigo was buzzing with excitement, pointing out all the stalls he wanted to visit.

They gave the Game Station stall a wide berth, but made a point to visit the Zeltrix one. Rangiku suspected Hyorinmaru would be avoiding it as he avoided his head office every day, thus making it quite a safe location to hang out.

True to her word, she asked the staff running the stall if they wouldn't mind her surveying customers as they approached the stall. They were happy for them to do so, especially when Rangiku dropped Hyorinmaru's name, allowing her and Ichigo to conduct their market research.

She was happy that the overwhelming response had been positive, many gamers excited to see their favourite gaming company take a positive stance on such a relevant issue to their age group. Some people even told them their personal stories and struggles with trying to find their identities. They met closeted lesbians who were too scared to tell their mothers, an openly gay teenage boy dressed in matching cosplay's with his very supportive father, a young man in the middle of transitioning from his previous female gender, and a woman who didn't care who she fell in love with as long as they had a good heart (she spoke to Rangiku's very soul). Rangiku made notes in her phone, saving it so she could write a proper report once she got back to the office.

At this point, Rangiku saw no need to search for Tosh yet, happy to hide in the one part of the conference she could guarantee he'd stay away from. He was likely disguised by cosplay too, leaving him with the advantage over her of who would spot who first. Even in costume, he knew what she looked like more than she knew his appearance. No, she'd stay back for now, the decision was also putting Ichigo at ease as she continued with her market research; he had no reason to suspect an ulterior motive at this point.

Her plan came into motion at Yukio's panel. Her and Ichigo wrapped up their surveying and thanked the Zeltrix stall staff for their cooperation before getting a quick bite to eat and heading through to watch the panel. Ichigo was practically bouncing, excited to his friend on stage, while Rangiku used his distraction to scan the room for anyone who could possibly be her CEO. She had knowledge of height and teal eyes, although in costume it was hard to say if that information would be relevant enough. She did however have the Rukia advantage – even if the girl was in cosplay, Rangiku was confident she would recognise the girl's small stature and face from all the photos on Hyorinmaru's private jet.

Her idea was she would locate Hyorinmaru, take in his appearance and then later message him to let him know she was there, she had seen him and she didn't give a flying fuck what he looked like, even in an embarrassing cosplay. Directly after the panel, she would allow Ichigo to run up to his old friend and catch up for a moment, ideally neither of them mentioning Tosh at all and then they could all leave happy. Hyorinmaru would get over his little annoyance that she'd gone behind his back and finally feel relieved that he didn't have to hide anymore. He would then ask her to meet up with him – on top of the Empire State Building at sunset of course – and it would be awkward at first but soon they would fall into their natural rhythms. Eventually 'meeting up' would mean going on dates, dates would then mean kissing, and finally, neither of them would be so alone any more. They could both be happy together.

That was the plan anyway.

It went totally out the window once the panel began. Rangiku had chosen to pull Ichigo into seats in the top right hand corner so that she could have a better view of the room, although scanning backs of heads was a bit futile, it was a lot less obvious than sitting in the front row and turning her head back every few seconds. She even snapped a selfie of the two of them while they waited for the panel speakers to be brought on.

Yukio was introduced and the audience cheered loudly. He was dressed in a cosplay outfit that consisted of rather revealing short shorts and thigh-high black stockings. In fact, Rangiku was sure she owned both of those things, although she had the ass to fill out the shorts whereas Yukio had a man's much flatter bum, and a lack of baby-carrying hips.

"Oh my god," Ichigo cried with laughter, leaning against her for support, "He's dressed as Alois from Black Butler, I'm dead, this is hilarious."

Rangiku couldn't help but grin too at the gamer's appearance. The panel got underway pretty quickly after, although there was a swap with a big YouTube gamer that had everyone momentarily stunned, especially Ichigo who was a big fan it seemed. She recognised Jacksepticeye, or Sean it seemed, from his involvement in her industry but she had never really watched any of his videos.

It felt like forever that the panel dragged on, Rangiku not making any progress in identifying Hyorinmaru or Rukia. She thought she might be out of luck – that maybe he had actually decided not to come, or that this was potentially not the event he had been talking about – until the Q&A part of the panel came around, and she recognised a voice all too well.

"My question is for Sean."

Both she and Ichigo whipped around to face it. The voice wasn't as deep as it was on skype but she would recognise it anywhere. It was the voice of the waiter who had saved her two nights ago, the voice of the mysterious Tosh.

Yukio called for him to stand up and he did, causing Rangiku and Ichigo to both inhale very sharply, each for entirely different reasons. The man that stood was indeed very small in stature, probably a good twenty centimetres below her towering one-eighty. He was skinny too, almost too skinny. He wore a costume she didn't recognise, possibly because it was from the same anime as Yukio's. She could tell the orange in his hair wasn't natural, only an accessory to his cosplay. His eyes weren't the teal she was expecting, obviously having donned contacts for the event but they didn't hide his long thick lashes. Rangiku had to wear false eyelashes to get hers even remotely close to that. His skin was pale beside the stark blue of the makeup, but in a beautiful way. Hyorinmaru's skin was perfectly clear, and looked like porcelain from a distance – he could have been a doll for all she knew.

"There is actually nothing wrong with the way he looks," Rangiku muttered to herself, staring unabashedly at the man.

Hyorinmaru was on the smaller side, sure, but he was a perfectly normal looking guy. Beautiful even, if he got out of the costume and she could see the gorgeous teal eyes he had inherited from his grandmother.

"Sean, Yukio is a huge fan of yours, massive in fact I do believe you're on his list of men he'd turn gay for," Hyorinmaru/Tosh spoke again, captivating Rangiku's attention once more, "So my question is what do you think of his stockings?"

The crowd erupted in laughter, and Rangiku turned to Ichigo smiling broadly, only to find he wasn't smiling back.

"You set this up, didn't you Ran?" he asked, betrayal crossing his face, "You lied to me for this?"

"I know and I'm really sorry about lying," Rangiku said, reaching out for Ichigo's arm only to be shrugged away, "But this was important. I'm trying to help him get over his insecurities."

In the background, Sean was answering, the crowd getting worked up with laughter and whistles, but Rangiku and Ichigo ignored it.

"He has anxiety, not insecurities," Ichigo snapped quietly, lowering his voice as to not attract attention, "He's going to freak out when he finds out we were here."

Rangiku shook her head, "He's going to realise he was worried for nothing. I think he looks great and I'll tell him that, and then maybe he might not be so insistent that we don't meet up."

"You don't know him at all then," Ichigo stated, voice tight.

It was a knife to the heart that left Rangiku speechless. She was furious that Ichigo could say such a thing to her but found it hard to comment on it when she had just done the wrong thing by him. He was angry with her for lying and putting him in such an awkward positon between her and Hyorinmaru. Rangiku swallowed it with a grain of salt; he was mad and for a good reason. She let him lash out now because soon enough it would all be sorted out and everything would be fine.

Turning away, Ichigo sunk down in his seat as if it would make him invisible. As soon as the panel was over, they were the first two out of the room, Rangiku being dragged by her wrist. She stayed silent on the taxi ride home, as did Ichigo, the tension between them thick and only worsening by the cab driver's attempt at small talk, asking about their costumes and the convention they came from. They arrived at the hotel, Ichigo escaping into his room without as much as a 'good night'. She sighed as his door slammed in her face. She had definitely fucked up with him, but she couldn't do much right now. Perhaps in the morning, when he'd had time to calm down and Rangiku could present him with good news that Hyorinmaru wasn't mad at either of them, he would feel better, or at least, be able to talk to her.

Entering her own room, Rangiku excitedly pulled out her phone to message Hyorinmaru. She was a little nervous but she had to do it. She felt too seriously this – about him – to let it go, and if she was right, he might even feel the same way. Why else would he send her roses? At the very least, she just wanted his friendship – in person.

 **Matsumoto 16:33pm**

 **It's over :P**

 **I found you.**

 **I saw you ask a question at Yukio's panel, that's some cute Black Butler cosplay you have going on, your question to Yukio made me laugh.**

 **He looks good in stockings.**

Attaching the selfie she had taken of her and Ichigo, Rangiku did her best to project her humour through her message to show that it was a positive thing, that regardless of what he looked like she still wanted to have that close relationship for him. She had even looked up his cosplay outfit in the taxi on the way back to hotel.

She added, after a thought (just in case she hadn't made it explicitly clear that she wanted an in-person relationship, despite what he might think of his looks):

 **Matsumoto 16:35pm**

 **And you're not that short btw!**

It took several minutes for him to reply, almost twenty minutes in fact, and Rangiku was beginning to feel a little nervous. She wondered if he was still upset from the day before and her lack of messages to this point. To be fair, it was him who had hurt her and she had given a perfectly acceptable response back. She hadn't message him since but neither had he messaged her.

Eventually the response came though

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 16:52pm**

 **You stalked me?**

 **Matsumoto 16:52pm**

 **Maybe a little :P**  
 **So can we meet now?**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 16:53pm**

 **No.**

Staring at it uncomprehendingly, Rangiku was confused. Had she not just told him that his looks didn't matter to her? Had she not spent months trying to convince him of that? Had she not just made things easier on him by secretly seeing him in person, so that now he would have to be so worried about what she'd think of him?

It was amazing how quickly her confusion turned to anger.

 **Matsumoto 16:55pm**

 **I'm beginning to think you actually don't want to be in my company, which is just so shocking to me because I actually thought we were friends.**

 **I thought if I could come and see you and explain that your size is not an issue that you'd want to meet, forgive me Captain but I'm actually a bit pissed off.**  
 **Why don't you want to meet me?**

It was bitter as all hell but she was getting impatient. She was sick of him avoiding her all the damn time. This couldn't just be about looks now – she took that side out of the equation when she saw him and then told him he looked perfectly fine to her.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 16:57pm**

 **If you were really my friend you'd have respected my privacy.**

The knife Ichigo had left in her heart with his 'you don't know him at all comment' was now being twisted. She read the message over and over, her heart plummeting in her gut and disintegrating in her stomach acids.

So they weren't friends by his book. Fabulous. Wow. Perfect. She was glad he had sent her all those roses to get her hopes up only to rip them to shreds weeks later. She was glad she spent months talking to him, sharing with him literally her darkest secrets and most humiliating insecurities that she couldn't even tell her own parents about, only for him to not even classify them as friends. She was also absolutely so ecstatic to know that she had fallen in love with another boss who – although he went a dramatically different way about it – ripped her heart out and left her in the cold.

Cool, cool, cool – that's exactly what she wanted. She definitely wanted to feel extra isolated and alone.

The world was on fire but her whole body felt colder than ice.

 **Matsumoto 17:02pm**

 **Wow. Okay.**  
 **Consider your message landed. We're not friends, but I don't appreciate how little you think of me.**

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 17:04pm**

 **What do you mean?**

 **Matsumoto 17:04pm**

 **That you actually think so little of me, after all you've learned, that all you think I care about is what you look like.**  
 **But noted. I won't bother you again.**

She was both insulted and hurt. Rangiku hated the way he seemed to think of her. It was a stereotypical thought that most people had when they looked at her, that all she cared about was looks. Nobody cared that she had spent years at a top tier university getting a double degree. Nobody cared that she was an executive manager at an international company. Nobody care that she was a sci-fi/fantasy nerd, who wore glasses at night and on weekends and drank tea from a mug that was shaped like a TARDIS. People only cared what she looked like. Hyorinmaru, who had so many insecurities about his looks, seemed to only care about her looks, associating it to a level of arrogance that would make her only care about physical appearances, like she couldn't possibly identify any other redeeming features in a person.

As far as many was concerned, Gin was rather good looking but look where that got her; raped on his god damn desk. Looks were overrated; it was heart she was looking for. Apparently nobody else understood that. Apparently, Hyorinmaru, or 'Tosh' as his real friends called him, did not understand that, no matter how much she had poured her heart out to him.

The man didn't reply again, and Rangiku wasn't sure if she was pissed off by that, hurt by that or relieved because there was no way his next words weren't going to hurt her even more.

…

The next morning, Rangiku stood outside Ichigo's room with a bouquet of donuts. She hadn't slept a single wink last night, literally sitting up in her bed, unable to distract herself with anything. Eventually she decided just to leave the room. She didn't care how dangerous New York might have considered itself, she had little fucks to give about being mugged or murdered. Her heart had been ripped out of her chest and squeezed to dust before her own eyes. She was numb.

Still she left any cash or cards behind, taking only a coat, her room key card and her phone – which was now turned off but she could turn it on and use the payment apps if she wanted to buy anything. Sometime after sunrise, Rangiku saw a shop that was selling edible bouquets and her first thought had been how much Ichigo would love the store, followed by the crushing realisation that she had hurt him badly with her stunt and lies, so much so that he wasn't here for her to see his amazed expression at the sight of an edible bouquet.

A bridge had been burned between her and Hyorinmaru which had been devastating beyond belief. Rangiku could not afford to lose Ichigo as well, especially as she had to spend every day with him at work. She didn't want to feel lonelier than she already did, hence she had bought him a donut bouquet as a peace offering.

She knocked and was glad to find he didn't make her wait as long as she thought he should. The strawberry opened the door, looking half asleep and annoyed to see her.

"I'm so sorry," she apologised quickly, holding out the bouquet, "I lied to you and betrayed your trust. I was wrong to do that and I was… I was just wrong."

Wrong about a lot of things it seemed.

"I was an asshole, and I'm sorry," she continued, "I will tell him you had nothing to do with it, and that I tricked you into being there with me."

Feeling the tears come, Rangiku looked down at the floor. She was wearing faded jeans with converse shoes that didn't match and a baggy Star Wars t-shirt that she normally wore to bed, her coat ditched in a public trash can somewhere. She was dressed comfortably as if she was in her own home, not in a fancy New York hotel. She had even thrown out her contacts, deciding to forever wear her glasses as a protest. She was going to wear whatever she damn well felt like and felt comfortable in if her normal stylish clothes only got her sexually assaulted or had people assuming she was so arrogant about looks and fashion. She even threw out her makeup.

A sigh above her brought her mind back, and soon after she felt Ichigo take the bouquet out of her hand.

"Thank you," he said, accepting her apology, "But don't worry about telling him, I'll talk to him myself."

Warm arms wrapped around her shoulders and a chin propped itself on her head. In turn, she hugged his waist. It was taking everything she had not to cry as she was overcome with numerous feelings from the last twenty four hours; anger, sadness, guilt, frustration, love, hate, fear, betrayal, insecurity, self-hate.

"Did you sort things out with him?" Ichigo asked from above, "When is going to meet up with you?"

"He doesn't want to meet up with me," she answered thickly, never having felt so small in her life, "He doesn't want anything to do with me."

Ichigo's only response was to squeeze her tighter.

…

They arrived back in Tokyo a few days later and luckily had the weekend to recover from their jetlag. Still she had not heard from Hyorinmaru but hadn't expected to having deleted his number from her phone as well as the skype app. She also made a point of deleting the app of her personal laptop as well. From now on, it was to be a work only app used at the office from her desktop and she wouldn't message him. For the time being, any relevant work messages to him could go through Ichigo or Ukitake.

Bored over the weekend and in need of desperate distraction, she sat down and wrote up a marketing proposal report around her Pride Month idea. The month was almost over so it would likely have to wait until next year, but they could potentially test in in other countries with alternative Pride dates first before next July. Regardless of her shitty time in New York, she was still convinced it was a good idea, heading out with Ichigo and Renji to a number of gaming stores to survey the Japanese market, again mostly receiving positive results – a big result for a country that was still a little closed off to the idea of same sex relationships.

Monday morning came around and Rangiku found enough strength to put on a professional outfit – but the glasses stayed on and the no makeup rule stuck. She wore flats instead of heels and no jewellery except the necklace she always wore as it was a gift from her parents on her twentieth birthday. It was refreshing for her and still an entirely professional look, but would likely turn a few heads in the office as it was a big downgrade from her usual up-do.

Entering her office, Rangiku found three roses sitting on her desk.

Staring at them warily, she dropped her bag beside her desk and picked up the card.

' _I'm sorry – T.H. x'_

Holding her breath, Rangiku turned on her work computer, opened the skype app and typed out a message to best convey her feelings while still being polite; roses and a sorry note weren't going to cut it anymore. She was sick of being led on, getting her hopes up only for them to be dashed when things suddenly seemed too real for him.

 **Matsumoto 08:13am**

 **I don't want flowers, I just wanted to meet you.**

It was – through her eyes – a perfectly reasonable request. She had done everything in her power to make a friendship work between them but ultimately friendship wasn't a one player game. It was his decision whether he wanted to play or whether he wanted to chuck the game – and her heart – away.

 **Mr Hyorinmaru 08:15am**

 **I am sorry, it's the one thing I can't give you.**

Her heart was empty, unable to conjure up anymore emotions after her last week. Her mind was numb, fingers automatically typing a response for her.

 **Matsumoto 08:15am**

 **Then I've nothing more to say.**

Game over.

Dropping the roses in the trash along with the empty meaning card, Rangiku got back on with business, trying to ignore the world as it crashed around her and called Ichigo into her office.

"What's up?" he asked, ducking his head around the door, juice bottle in hand now that the dieting was back on.

He eyed the roses in the bin but said nothing.

"I'm going to email you that marketing proposal for our Pride Month campaign," she told him, ignoring the look he was sending her, "Can you read through it and check everything is okay, and then email it on to the boss when you're done?"

It was her way of telling him that things were well and truly over between her and Hyorinmaru.

He agreed with a sad look before retreating back to his desk, Rangiku sitting back in her chair and looking up into the hurtfully bright fluorescent lights. Blinking back tears, Rangiku released a shaky exhale.

 _Game over indeed._

…

 **RIP.**

 **Please review and don't forget to read LethanWolf's Toshiro chapter for the full story! xoxo**


	5. Reduce and Recover

Rangiku stared at the pamphlets laid out her kitchen bench around her. She had read them all at least thirty odd times, and that was only in the last week. She been reading them since she was thirteen; about the procedure, the risks, the aftercare, all of it. She knew the ins and outs of it better than she knew her own life. Was she nervous? Incredibly, but it was something she had known she had wanted since she was a young teenager, and something she was told she had to wait for. Doctor after doctor, surgeon after surgeon, all recommending the same thing: "Wait until you're twenty-one, when your body as full developed." Well she had been over twenty-one for some time now, the only thing holding her back from it had been Gin. He had loved this part of her, of course he had. It was part of his excuse for forcing himself on her, because how could he resist her looking like that?

Never had she wanted this procedure more than during the months following his attack on her. Unfortunately, she had left her job and therefore her pay check, so affording it was impossible. She wouldn't dare ask her parents for money, not after they had become so proud of her working her big city managerial job. So she had suffered through it; the pain in her back, the embarrassment of being whistled at on the street, the self-hate she felt every time she looked in the mirror and the self-consciousness of going into a bra shop, searching for a bra in her size that was any colour but boring beige.

Now though, she had a relatively stable job, and if the events during her time in New York reminded her of anything, it was of how much she wanted this surgery. Between Gin and Hyorinmaru, she had two completely different reasons for doing the same thing, and on Monday it would finally be happening; her long awaited breast reduction – from an H cup, to a very respectable C.

A knock at the door startled the strawberry blonde from her stupor. She gathered up her pamphlets and placed them in the cutlery drawer, out of sight, before moving towards the door.

"Ichigo?" she tilted her head at the orange haired man as she opened the door for him, "What are you doing here? I thought you and Renji had dance lessons this morning?"

It had been a few months since New York which meant that the almighty wedding of the Abarai's was now insanely close. Ichigo's stress was now at level five hundred and one – even in the office he spent hours pacing back and forth, juice bottle in one hand, cell phone in the other, screaming down the line at one of his wedding vendors for some reason or another, very little marketing for Zeltrix being worked on. Renji on the other hand had been so relaxed that it seemed like he was about to walk down a grocery store aisle not a wedding aisle, his lack of care only spiralling Ichigo further out of control; was there such a thing as a groom-ziller? As opposed to a bride-ziller?

"This morning, yes, at six," Ichigo told her, entering her apartment with a large cardboard box, "I think we've finally nailed the steps to our first dance, but we will have another practice tomorrow morning as well, just to be sure."

Dance classes at 6am on the weekend?! Rangiku's eyes bulged; this kid was out of control.

Ignorant to her disbelieving stare, Ichigo made himself at home in her flat, popping the box in front of the television and pulling out an old Z-Box console, some controllers and a bunch of video games.

"So I know you've been down lately," Ichigo continued setting up, plugging and disconnecting wires here and there until the Zeltrix logo appeared on her television, "And I know you don't want to talk about it-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Rangiku cut in quickly.

It had been months since New York and she and Hyorinmaru had next to no contact, apart from the occasional group email that was strictly work related. She had absolutely refused to talk about it with anyone, not even Ichigo or the girls. In fact, Friday night girls wine and cheese nights were temporarily dead. She didn't want to see anyone when she was feeling so awful inside. People were worrying but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it. It hurt; it hurt so fucking much, all over her body, on the inside and the out. She felt sick all the time, even eating was hard. She pretty much lived on instant cup soups, not bothered to pull out a pot or pan and actually cook.

"I'm not going to ask you to talk," Ichigo frowned, hands up defensively as he turned to her, "But I'm not going to let you be alone while you're going through… _something_."

"I'm not alone," Rangiku reminded him, gesturing to the small grey and white kitten that had slipped into the room and was now rubbing itself against her legs, "I have Haineko."

She had gotten a cat, it was no big deal.

"Oh yes, how could I forget?" Ichigo mocked her as he held out a gaming controller to her, smiling coyly.

"What do you want me to do with this?" she frowned, taking it into her hand.

"You know that I turned to gaming as an escape when I was young," he told her, turning back and inserting a disk into the console, "Well I thought you might want to give it a go. I'll teach you."

Rangiku raised an eyebrow at him. Although she was definitely a bit of a geek when it came to sci-fi and fantasy movies, shows or books, and despite working in the gaming industry since she had left university, Rangiku had never been a gamer. Well, she had been through a big stage of playing candy crush on her phone, and then there had been that Tamagotchi she had looked after all the way through middle school, but she doubted Ichigo counted either of those.

"Come on, it will be fun," Ichigo grinned, sitting himself down on the couch and patting the spot next to him, "I need the stress relief too."

Reluctantly agreeing, Rangiku joined her second in charge on the couch. Haineko cried until Rangiku picked her up and put her in her lap (the poor kitty was still too small to make the jump from the floor to the couch), and the little ball of fluff curled against her stomach.

"I still can't believe you got a cat," Ichigo muttered, looking at the kitten with distaste.

"I've always wanted a cat," Rangiku frowned, offended, "And it's the only pet I can have in this small apartment."

"What about a fish?"

"I can't cuddle a fish."

"You can't cuddle a cat either!" Ichigo laughed, pointing to the small red scratches all over Rangiku's hands and forearms.

"She's just a baby," Rangiku pouted, "She gets a little excited when I play with her."

Haineko had been a bit of a surprise addition to her 'post-New York breakdown' as she knew Ichigo secretly referred to it as, but to be fair, Rangiku really did love cats. She had always had a cat growing up at her parents' house as her mother was also a big feline fan but when she had moved to the city she had to leave her very elderly ginger cat at home. The poor boy had passed on since then and Rangiku had not planned to get another pet until she moved into a proper house, but when Orihime had dragged her to the animal shelter to find herself a rabbit, Rangiku had seen a terrified and shivering little kitten alone in a cage – the last of her litter left – and well, the rest was history. She brought 'Haineko' home, much to the dismay of dog-person Ichigo.

The strawberry in question rolled his eyes but dropped the subject, turning back to the loading menu screen and setting them up to play one of the Super Mario Bros games as a 'simple start' to her gaming career.

She got to be Mario, of course, while Ichigo was running around as Princess Peach. There was a lot of screaming at the television, mostly by Ichigo, and, surprisingly, a lot of smiling by Rangiku. She hadn't expected it to work, and honestly this game was kind of boring, but the way Ichigo got so into it made her laugh, and the company was nice. She had pushed a lot of people away over the last few months but Ichigo remained unfazed, even despite her new feline friend.

"Are you nervous about Monday?" he asked her later as he was standing by the door ready to leave.

He had left the console and games behind, saying she could keep his old stuff since he rarely used it now and she might need something to do during her recovery week.

"Yes," Rangiku grimaced, holding Haineko against her chest so the kitten couldn't escape out the door, "But it has to get done. I'm sick of looking like this and feeling like this."

She rubbed her lower back as if to indicate a point.

Ichigo sighed, "He's going to feel so guilty when he finds out."

Rangiku's jaw clenched.

"Well he's not going to find out because he would actually have to come see me for that," she said, ignoring the lump in her throat, "And I'm not doing this because of him; I have so many reasons for doing this."

Ichigo looked like he didn't believe her but he didn't say anything more on it.

"Okay well, Dad is taking Monday off to take you in," he told her, "then I'm looking after you on Tuesday, Renji is doing Wednesday, Dad will back on Thursday but then the three of us need to be in the office on Friday for the biannual meeting so I've organised Nanao to stay with you that day and I'll be back on Saturday."

Rangiku nodded with a sad smile; she felt guilty all these people were going to be taking time off work to spend the day with her, but the doctor had been every explicit about having someone around in case she needed anything or if there were complications. She had originally asked Isshin to just take her to the surgery in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon, but as a father of a doctor, he instantly knew she would need more care than that and spoke to the surgeon directly. Isshin offered to stay the nights at her apartment with her so she wouldn't be alone. Rangiku had felt guilty enough about agreeing to that but then suddenly Ichigo, Renji and Nanao had been dragged in to take alternate days in looking after her while Isshin went back to work. She had protested of course, but she had also refused to tell her parents until after she was through the recovery phase, and Isshin, a father to all it seemed, had overruled her immediately.

"Hey, we want to do this," Ichigo continued after seeing her look, "You've been amazing with helping me to organise the wedding and a great friend throughout my stressful moments. We all love you and we're going to be there for this… Besides, we're using you as free labour to gift wrap our favours while you're off work."

Stifling a small laugh, the only thing Rangiku could think to do was to hug him, careful not to let Haineko get crushed between them, and pressing her bust firmly against his chest.

"The last time we'll have these in the way of our hugs," she joked lamely.

"I'll miss them."

"You're gay though."

"Whatever."

…

The surgery had been a success, thankfully.

She was in a lot of pain and could only lie on her back in bed – difficult as she typically slept on her side, curled up – but for the first time since she had started high school, Rangiku could look down and see her feet. She could see most of her lower body, in fact. It was a _miracle_.

It was too early to appreciate the surgery for what it had done for her body, especially since she needed help to sit up, had her breasts wrapped in gauze and when she looked in the mirror she just saw a very pale, very fragile looking out-patient. Gradually though, as the days of recovery wore on and the pain began to subside, Rangiku started feeling stronger. She got to wear a bra – a surgical bra but still – the colour in her face came back and she could already feel the lack of weight in her chest. Her back still hurt a little, mostly from years of carrying around her H cup beasts, but that too would eventually lessen. She had spent all week in her pyjamas but already she was starting to appreciate the look of her body more. She couldn't wait to get back into real clothes and see how she looked. Although, getting back into real clothes meant going back to work and seeing people who had no idea she was getting the procedure. She imagined there would be some dropped jaws as she walked through the office next week.

She was getting bored having so many days off with nothing to except watch movies, play Mario and play with her excitable but scratchy kitten. She needed some fresh air, some sun even, maybe a touch of snow now that winter had arrived.

"Okay kid, looks like it's just me and you tonight," Isshin announced, plopping himself on the couch beside her with a bowl of popcorn, "Ichigo has gone to visit Rukia so you know what that means…"

"We get to watch a movie that isn't wedding-themed?" Rangiku guessed, softly stroking the sleeping kitten in her lap.

"Exactly!" Isshin grinned, "No more Bride Wars or Twenty-Seven Dresses for us."

"But I was really looking forward to watching the Wedding Planner for the fourth time this week!" Rangiku exclaimed in mock horror.

They loved Ichigo, they really did, but sometimes he made it too easy for them to mock him. The strawberry had been on a rampage during the week, using his time spent with Rangiku during her recovery to get more wedding things organised. They had gift wrapped all the little strawberry jam jars which were to be their favours for their guests, Rangiku had helped design all the stationery, including the seating list, the place names and the menus, and she had – much to her distress – helped Ichigo pick out his wedding night lingerie, a moment which will be forever burned in her mind. Furthermore, Ichigo had made her and Isshin sit through wedding movie after wedding movie, just in case he saw something that he might have missed in planning this ceremony.

Isshin laughed, picking up the remote and clicking through channels until he found an old space movie.

"So Rukia is still here then?" Rangiku asked, fiddling idly with the tassels on the edges of her blanket.

"Yeah," Isshin shrugged, "I'm not sure how long for though. She generally doesn't stay for more than a couple weeks before she heads off again."

 _To Hyorinmaru_ , although that was left unsaid.

Rangiku had met Rukia very briefly at the office the week before her procedure. The girl was visiting the office to check on a few things it seemed, but she found the time to personally pay the marketing department a visit to congratulate her and Ichigo on their Pride Month idea. Whether she knew about Rangiku's relationship with Hyorinmaru was unclear as the raven-haired girl didn't mention it. However, if Rangiku had to guess by the way the girl threw around Hyorinmaru's name and about how impressed he was with her idea, she'd guess that Rukia didn't know of the awkward history between them. That had hurt a little as it told Rangiku that she hadn't even been worth Hyorinmaru mentioning her to his friends.

The thought made her shift uncomfortably on the couch, which caused Isshin to turn to her with a concerned expression.

"Are you in pain?" he asked quickly, "Did you take your medication with dinner?"

"Yes, I took them," she sighed with a nod; four pills, three times a day for ten days, with food – she was familiar with the routine come day five of her recovery.

Isshin leaned back, his eyes sweeping over her briefly as he regarded her. He had his dad look on, a mixture of love, concern and hope, with a dash of disapproval. It was a love-hate relationship Rangiku had with that particular expression. On one hand it meant that the man truly cared about her, on the other hand, it meant he was about to get personal with her.

"So I know something has happened between you and Hyorinmaru since New York," the dark haired man started, ignoring her sharp intake of breath at his words, "I don't know the specifics, but I'm not stupid. I knew by the way you used to ask questions about him and now suddenly you've stopped. I tried to ask Ichigo but he wouldn't tell me, although I think his reactions told me enough."

"I don't want to talk about it," Rangiku told him, voice strained; it was her automatic response anytime Ichigo brought it up with her. The uncomfortable weight that had settled on her heart since New York pressed harder against her.

"You can trust me, Ran," Isshin told her, holding a hand out to her but not touching her without permission, "I have known you since you were a little girl. You used to come to my house each week to babysit the girls."

Eyes clenched shut, Rangiku shook her head.

"He's a good guy," Isshin continued, "I have known him since he was young too and I'd trust him with my life, as I would trust you with it. Whatever your feelings are for him, I understand and it's okay to admit them."

Shaking her head even more vigorously, Rangiku begged the emotions to stay down. She had kept calm in front of company for months now and she wasn't about to let it out now. Her arms tried to cross over her chest but Isshin pulled them back, warning her to be careful of her surgical areas.

"Hey, hey," Isshin soothed, shuffling closer and rubbing her arm gently, "Come on, talk to me. This isn't like you, Ran, and I'm getting a bit worried. Your parents even called me today, apparently you haven't checked in with them in a while?"

Rangiku's heart clenched – she hadn't talked to her parents in months. She had wanted to, every day, but she always held back, afraid they figure out she was suffering and worry about her. Rangiku didn't want that – her parents thought she was strong, successful and independent, and she didn't want to break that image with her sob stories.

"I've been busy," Rangiku offered up weakly, pulling her knees as close to her chest as she could without letting them touch her tender areas.

"Yeah I know," Isshin raised an eyebrow, "You've barely left the office in months, except when you're getting surgery to physically alter your body."

Rangiku rolled her eyes so hard they almost got stuck in the back of her head, "For the last time, I've needed this surgery for years, even Yuzu – the only actual doctor amongst us – agreed it was a good idea."

There had been a lot of opinions going around about whether she should have got the reduction or not. Ichigo seemed to think she was only doing it because of what had happened in New York, Isshin wasn't sure why she was doing it but believed something had suddenly triggered it (which had only added to Ichigo's argument), and Renji and Orihime just thought she was insane for 'chopping them off'. Alternatively, Nanao supported her back pain argument up and even Yuzu, the Kurosaki-Shiba golden child with an authentic medical degree, had agreed it was an appropriate course of action for her which had temporarily silenced most of 'Team Don't Do It'.

"I'm not saying it wasn't a good option for you," Isshin said calmly, "I'm just concerned that your motives weren't as true as you said. I believe someone made you feel like you should change the way you look."

"And you think it was Hyorinmaru?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow, "Your beloved second son?"

"I don't know," Isshin shrugged, "Maybe – I know how he can be and how that might reflect on someone who's trying to get close to him. Then again, maybe it was Gin who has triggered it? I know you two had a bad history – again not the specifics – and that he was at the conference in New York. Or maybe it was both of them."

"Maybe it was neither," Rangiku suggested with mock interest.

She didn't want to talk about either of those men; she didn't want to talk about New York. Couldn't she just sit and watch old space movies with bad graphics and drink wine and be miserable?

"I hate seeing you so miserable," Isshin continued, apparently reading her thoughts, "So do you want to tell me what happened?"

"No."

"Well, I'm staying the night, remember?" Isshin gestured to the makeshift bed they had set up for him at the beginning of the week, "And I'm not leaving until you've opened up to me."

"The last person I opened up to broke my heart," Rangiku muttered bitterly, turning away.

Isshin eyes lit up despite the depressing words.

"There you go," he patted her back excitedly; "Doesn't it feel better to say it out loud? Come on, let's get it all out."

Another suffering eye roll and lengthy sigh, Rangiku sipped on her tea hoping it would magically turn into wine (which she had been banned from while she was still on the medications – only another five days to go!).

"I don't really know when it started," Rangiku shrugged, concentrating on the television, "But it all went to shit in New York."

Relenting, Rangiku told Isshin, AKA her second dad, everything. From Gin to Hyorinmaru, from her time at Game Station to returning from New York, from a dozen roses down to the three that had ended up in her office bin. She told him everything but still she didn't feel better, the weight only getting heavier in her heart. Isshin sat silently, listening intently, eyes focused on her face and occasionally nodding along with her words. She didn't cry this time, she wasn't even sure she had any tears left to cry, but her hands and her voice trembled, still Isshin didn't stop her. By the end of it, the father figure had his arms wrapped around her – carefully, as not to jostle her sensitive chest – as she pressed her ear to his heart, trying to control her breathing, Haineko long since abandoning them to push a stray battery around the floor.

"I know I did the wrong thing at the convention," Rangiku murmured, exhausted from reliving it all again for the millionth time, "And I know he was asking for a second chance with those last few roses, but he was wanting to go back to how we were before, and I just… just-"

"You didn't want to go backwards," Isshin finished for her, rubbing slow circles in her back, "Your feelings were too deep."

Nodding, Rangiku could only agree. They fell into a moment of silence then as Isshin quietly processed her story. The movie and the popcorn were long since forgotten and her tea had gone cold. She hadn't slept well in months, but it had been worse over the last week with the breast pain, but still, lying against a warm body and a beating heart was more comfort than she could have ever imagined. She definitely could sleep like this – she hated sleeping alone.

"You've heard about his anxiety then?" Isshin asked softly.

"Yes, and I understand that now," Rangiku answered tiredly, "But he doesn't trust me at all."

"It's not that," Isshin murmured, "It's an illness and it distorts the way he thinks. It makes him hide away from the people he cares about."

"Rukia is literally one of his closest friends in the word, she is his assistant and follows him across the globe, but he didn't even tell her about me," Rangiku sighed, "If he can't even open himself up to her, how could he ever do it with me? It's futile to think he could ever love me the way I love him."

It was the first time she had dropped the L-bomb while not talking about her parents, except one small incident when her and Ichigo got too drunk at Girls Night and ended up trapped in an endless cycle of 'I love you the most', 'No, I love you the most'. Gin had never come close to her saying the L word, and not even her first boyfriend, the very sweet Hanataro, had warranted an admission of love from her.

"It's not futile," Isshin squeezed her softly, "He just needs more time."

Rangiku disagreed but kept it to herself. She was so tired, she didn't want to talk anymore, she just wanted to sleep. Isshin seemed to sense it and being satisfied enough with the information he'd been given (although she was still unsure as to where they had landed on the breast reduction issue), he began to slowly pet her hair the same way she would pet Haineko if the devil kitten wasn't now trying to chew on yesterday's newspaper which had fallen off then kitchen bench.

…

Rangiku glared at Ichigo while Isshin shuffled nervously between them.

The strawberry was standing before her with two roses, his arm outstretched as he presented them to her, Hyorinmaru's name on his lips. Clearly there had been more to his visit to Rukia last night than he had let on.

"Well, I'm going to go grab a couple of coffees for us," Isshin said, halfway out the apartment door, "No fighting or I'll ground you both!"

"What the hell, Ichigo?" Rangiku hissed as the front door slammed shut, backing away from the roses like they were poisonous.

"Just hear me out," Ichigo said quickly, "He's in Tokyo, and I went to see him-"

"I don't want to hear about all the people who get to see him," she snapped, heart burning at the fact everyone but her seemed to be able to visit him whenever they felt like it, but she was banned from even seeing him at a distance or through the internet.

"And he wants to talk to you," Ichigo continued, "He wants to call you next week to talk about-"

"About what?!" Rangiku spat, "About how he never wants to meet up? He's already made that pretty clear."

"He wants to explain himself," The orange-haired man answered calmly, "He wants to tell you the truth."

Scoffing, Rangiku turned her back on Ichigo and the roses and stormed off into the kitchen. She immediately went over to sink and began doing the dishes. There weren't many, but she was angry so she started to rewash some clean tea mugs, not being at all careful, resulting in one or two chipped edges.

A loud sigh was heard across the room as her second in charge quietly followed her into the kitchen, his footsteps almost silent under the loud banging she was doing in the sink. He stood right behind her but still Rangiku ignored him, clattering about as she continued to wash already clean dishes, pausing every so often to tuck loose strands of hair away from her face.

Seeing her dilemma, Ichigo silently gathered up her hair and held it in a soft grip so it wouldn't fall back in front of her face.

"Please hear Tosh out," Ichigo begged softly, "I think it would be good for both of you to talk it out properly, away from text messages."

"I know that _Hyorinmaru_ is your friend," Rangiku said, emphasising the CEO's code name with bitterness, "And I'd never ask you to choose between us, but I am asking you not to put me through this."

Even she could hear her own desperation in her voice. She sounded so pathetic and she hated it. After a moment of hesitation, Ichigo moved closer to her, propping his chin on her shoulder.

"I think he is genuinely trying to make an effort here," Ichigo told her after careful consideration of his next words, "I wouldn't risk you getting hurt all over again if I didn't think this would help."

Closing her eyes, Rangiku stood still as she tried to keep her breathing regulated as panic began to mix with her earlier anger.

"What if it makes it worse?" she asked, childlike fear in her voice.

"Worse than you getting a cat?" Ichigo asked lightly, earning himself a light smack.

"I could get _two_ cats."

"Oh God, please don't."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, Ichigo steering her away from the dishes and back to the kitchen bench where the two roses now laid, discarded. Rangiku stared at them, numb of emotion; she hadn't heard a peep from him in months and now he was sending her roses again randomly? And using Ichigo as a messenger? Whatever else, it was a brave move. Stupid because there was no way he could have expected her to react well to this, but brave regardless.

"Forget him for a second," Ichigo murmured, taking away the roses and popping them in the kitchen trash can, "Focus on me. Rangiku, do you trust me?"

Sighing, Rangiku agreed with a nod.

"Next Saturday, 6pm," Ichigo told her, "I need you to trust me and answer that phone call."

Rangiku swallowed; there was definitely a chance she was making a big mistake, but the way Ichigo was looking at her with his large brown puppy dog eyes and serious expression…

"Fine," she answered reluctantly with a dramatic sigh.

…

Rangiku eyed her phone which, true to Ichigo's word, lit up and began vibrating across her coffee table at exactly 6pm the following Saturday.

She took a lengthy sip of her wine (now that she was off the meds), not entirely ready for whatever this conversation was going to be about. She wished she had asked Ichigo to stay now. With a trembling hand she reached for the phone. Her finger hesitated over the accept call button but eventually she gave in.

"Hello?"

"Rangiku, it's good to hear your voice," a shaky albeit very familiar voice spoke back to her, "I, you'll have to forgive me I'm not very good at this… I wanted to ask you something but first I feel I owe you an explanation if you're willing to listen?"

His voice, as beautiful as she remembered it, drove all the feelings she had been trying to suppress for months right back into her heart. It was confronting – she hadn't heard it since before New York. Her voice was caught in her throat – she could hear his nervousness and it resonated with her own.

"I'm listening," she answered at last, although a little stiffly.

She did want to hear his explanation anyway.

And boy did he give it.

"Okay, when I first interviewed you, you were meant to just be this other employee. Just like everyone else, that was my intention. I had nothing to go by except your voice and your bubbly chat that came through on Skype," Hyorinmaru began, "It's silly then that I should have found myself growing attached. There were so many barriers there you worked for me being one of the key ones. But still we got to talking, you opened up to me in ways you've never opened yourself up to anyone before and I've never met you half way and for that I'm sorry and I'm going to change that now. I'm just a guy who tinkers with motherboards and loves to create, I was never meant to be this big executive business man. But you know how I feel about how I look; my mistake has always been projecting my feelings onto others. It's why I hid myself away and didn't want anyone else to see or find me."

Rangiku took a big sip of her wine at that last sentence of his, but stayed quiet, allowing him to continue with his explanation.

"But we started spending more and more time talking and even without a visual I was growing close to you, invested in a way I've never felt before in my life. If you can picture the world's biggest geek who has no experience with women whatsoever that's literally the guy you have on the phone right now."

She caught herself almost smiling at the image that popped in her mind: a picture of a smaller man hunched over parts of an electronic device, assembling it with a look of severe concentration on his face. It was easier to picture him as a nerd than an exotic travelling business man now, and whether she liked it or not, it made the man seem more approachable to her.

"I started sending you the roses mostly because I wanted to make you smile, partly because if I'm being honest with myself I'd started to fall in love with you, and I never even gave you a chance. I'm sorry I'm not good at this. You made me smile, made me happier than I'd felt in years." Hyorinmaru continued, and unbeknownst to him, Rangiku had stopped breathing at his admission of romantic feelings towards her, "Seeing Ichigo get engaged, Yukio and Rukia warming up to each other, it all made me feel a little lonely. Then you burst into my life like a ray of sunshine and how could I not be enthralled by you? Before I knew it I was following you halfway around the world to protect you from the world's biggest asshole… not that I'm saying you needed my help or anything but just that it felt right to be close to you. Not once did I ever give your feelings a thought, it was always so absurd to me that anyone could even be remotely interested in me. That's not me fishing for a compliment; just being genuinely serious it's why I've never had a girlfriend before.

"I still have so many reservations, I hadn't realised but after our last horrific conversation, I'd stopped eating and shut myself away. It felt like someone had turned off all the lights and I had no idea where I was. I've never felt anything like this before and it still terrifies me.

"Others have said that maybe I was leading you on, that maybe you felt the same way which obviously to me sounded absurd because I just had this mental image that someone as amazing as you could never ever want to be with someone like me. But that wasn't fair and I'm sorry, it was never my decision to make, it was always yours, so now I'm putting my heart on the line for it."

The man on the other end of the phone line suddenly took a deep breath before asking his question:

"Rangiku would you be my date to Ichigo and Renji's wedding?'

Rangiku's whole body froze.

It was a lot to process. The man seemed to barely breathe at all as he told her his truths. Rangiku was paralysed against her couch, phone to her ear while her other hand hovered over her mouth, the nearly empty wine glass held precariously between loose fingers. Guilt sliced through her heart like a katana; Ichigo had repeatedly mentioned Hyorinmaru's anxiety to her since returning to Tokyo but to hear the full explanation from the man himself made it all more real – she hadn't known it was that bad. She remembered how skinny he looked at the convention and wondered how it was possible he could have eaten less. The idea that she had caused all that settled uncomfortably in her stomach, and the inner corners of her eyes began to sting.

She was not surprised at all to hear now that he'd never had a girlfriend, given the way his mind seemed to make him think, and by how painfully obvious it was that this was his first time asking a girl to be his date, the question which sent a flare of Rangiku's own anxiety through her body.

She took several beats to process her thoughts, taking in his explanation, evaluating it the best she could and trying to work out how she felt and what she could possibly respond with. In the end, she decided she needed to say a few things first.

"I didn't know your anxiety was so severe," she told him, voice slow and unsure, but staying relatively even despite the water in her eyes, "I'm sorry that I went behind your back at the convention; that was wrong of me, I just- I just wanted to make things easier on you."

Her hand began to shake so severely that the wine in her glass began to slosh over the edges down her hand before she could place it securely back on the coffee table.

"I-I really thought you might have had feelings for me," she continued, voice betraying her little, "I wanted it so much… but then when you couldn't even consider us friends… god it hurt. Part of me knew that you were only rejecting me because you thought that I couldn't love you due to your looks… but that only made it worse. I feel like I have poured my heart out to you and told you things I couldn't even tell my parents, I told you time and time again that I didn't rate a person's attractiveness on looks, I even told you I hated the way I looked, and yet you still believed I was that shallow...even after I saw you in person and told you I still wanted to meet up."

She took a big breath but continued, not allowing him any chance to cut in, "I'm really sorry that you're suffering and I'm sorry that I've caused you so much pain… but I'm hurting too. I came out of this experience wanting to change everything about myself."

And that she had done. Haircut – check. Contacts in the trash and glasses on 24/7 – check. Makeup, heels and low cut tops in the trash – check. Breast reduction – check, check (one for each breast).

"I want to accept your invitation," she told him, closing her eyes as a tear squeezed itself out, "But I also need to protect my heart. I'm not saying no… but I can't say yes until I know I'm not going to get my heart broken again, until I can see you in front of me, no skype app involved."

"I'm so sorry Rangiku," Hyorinmaru apologised, his voice so heartfelt with remorse, "I'm sorry for hurting you it was never my intention, I just wanted to protect you, that's all I've ever wanted but I can see I failed to protect you from the one thing that I should have had the most control over; my callousness. Please believe me when I say I never thought you were shallow, I know it may have seemed that way. I was just trying to protect myself, I had become so infatuated with you that the thought of even meeting and it not working out hurt me so much, but like I said I never even gave it a chance."

Rangiku took in his words and wiped the wetness of her cheeks. He acknowledged her feelings and it felt… she wouldn't say good but perhaps a little liberating? She felt like a massive weight had left her chest when she had told him her side and more so when he recognised her pain. She knew deep down, that he had never wanted to hurt her and that her protection seemed to be at the forefront of his mind in the way he risked everything in New York to keep her safe from Gin.

"I'm sorry for not considering your feelings in any of this, that won't ever happen again," he continued, "I will meet you at the wedding and we can take it from there?'

Accepting his offer would be an extreme leap of faith, however. She wanted to trust him in the way she could trust him to step in and throw wine at an asshole ex, but with her heart? She still wasn't sure she could trust him there anymore.

If they agreed to take it from the wedding, Rangiku could possibly accept that. She had less on the line with that solution than if she had accepted his date proposal upfront. If things got too much for him and he bailed, at least she wouldn't be waiting at home for him to pick her up. She would still be disappointed, but maybe it would hurt less.

"Okay," she agreed at last, not feeling like she needed to add anything else.

…

The day before the wedding, Ichigo and Renji's closest friends and family were heading to the venue to set up the reception area. Rangiku had been tasked with bringing the centre pieces and favours which had been left at her apartment since her recovery week. Since there were a lot and they were rather heavy, Rangiku had ended up borrowing her parents' car to get them from her apartment to the venue.

She had decided to visit her parents earlier in the week to quell their worries and put Isshin's mind at ease. Her mum had cried a little when she saw Rangiku's dramatically smaller breasts but while she was a bit unhappy that Rangiku had resorted to surgery to change her body and then kept it a secret, she did eventually come to understand her reasoning for it. It had been good to see them – they had loved her shorter hair – and her mother was very excited to meet Haineko one day, but Rangiku still decided to keep the romance side of her life quiet; they didn't need to know about her heartbreaks.

Opening her phone to find a message from Isshin asking her to call him when she arrived, Rangiku quickly dialled the man's number.

"Sorry I'm a little late," Rangiku murmured down the phone, "I forgot how awful this city was to drive around."

"Stay there, Renji and I are coming down to carry the boxes," Isshin ordered, "You're not allowed to carry anything heavy, doctors' orders."

"Okay, Second Dad," Rangiku mocked, grinning stupidly at the man's overprotectiveness.

"See you in a sec, Third Daughter," Isshin answered quickly before hanging up the phone.

Pulling her coat tighter around her, Rangiku forced down a shiver – the underground car park was freezing. It didn't take long for the men to find her, both stopping to kiss her cheek in greeting before they picked up the two heaviest boxes, and Rangiku grabbed the lightweight box full of white rose petals which were to be scattered over the tables.

"When we get up there, there's someone I want you meet," Isshin told her as they reached the elevator.

"It's not your nephew Ganju, is it?" Rangiku frowned, "Ichigo has told me all about him and his uhh… dance moves."

According to Ichigo, at the last family wedding between his cousin Kaien and new cousin-in-law, Miyako, Ganju had made the room highly uncomfortable with his 'obnoxiously provocative' dance moves. Apparently Isshin had to cover his twins' eyes as they girls had only been young teenagers at the time.

Renji choked on his laughter, "I hope he pulls those moves out again tomorrow night – that was hilarious!"

"I sincerely hope he doesn't," Isshin grumbled, "My girls are technically adults now but they still don't need to see that."

They elevator dinged and the doors opened revealing the space for the reception. Rangiku's breath was caught in her throat – the place looked beautiful! They had gone for a snow theme for their winter wedding which was apparently a nod to Ichigo's late mother Misaki who had loved the snow. White was the obvious colour scheme with streaks of silver and the odd hint of pale blue to indicate ice. Everything from the table runners to the chair covers, from the ceilings to the walls, was within that snowy theme.

"Wow," Rangiku breathed, placing her box down on a nearby table, "The place looks incredible."

"Yep," Isshin agreed, placing his own box down and turning to survey the room, "Masaki would have adored this."

Rangiku agreed, linking her arm through Isshin's and leaning against his shoulder. She could see Ichigo on the other side of the room directing helpers and staff here and there, looking only mildly as stressed as she knew he could get. She waved at Karin and Yuzu who jumped up and down excitedly from where they were going around the tables, placing name cards in front of each seat. Yuzu grinned, gesturing to her chest and then giving Rangiku a thumbs up, which the strawberry blonde returned with a big smile.

"Alright come on," Isshin tugged her along; "He's right over here."

The father guided her towards the DJ speakers. They passed someone who Rangiku instantly knew was the infamous Ganju from the way he was already winking inappropriately at the venue manager. Isshin steered her around the DJ – Shuuhei, wasn't it? – who was setting up his equipment and eventually to a small figure, hunched over some cords, with the most startling white hair Rangiku had ever seen.

The figure looked up as Isshin gained his attention by clearing his throat and Rangiku's heart instantly stopped as she made eye contact with the man, and her lips parted in shock.

It was Hyorinmaru – it was Tosh – in the flesh.

She knew instantly from his eyes before anything else; a dark and yet very bright teal – similar to that of his grandmothers and the company logo, and breathtakingly beautiful. He looked like a deer caught in headlights with tools hanging out of his mouth and tucked behind his ear, the image she had of a smaller nerdier man hunched over his disassembled electronic device was suddenly very real, not to mention absolutely adorable.

The man scrambled to his feet quickly, removing the soldering iron from his mouth while the screwdriver behind his ear fell away with the sudden movements.

"Rangiku," Isshin called her attention back, "This is Toshiro Hitsugaya."

T.H. – Tosh. Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Her eyebrows shot into her hair line as the former enigma in life suddenly reached down and held her hand, kissing it gently as he bowed.

"Rangiku, it's nice to finally meet you," the all too familiar voice greeted, cheeks bright red but now so were hers.

Vaguely registering that Isshin was leaving them to get on alone, Rangiku's breathing continued to evade her body. After wanting it for so long it was such a shock to finally see the man in front of her, a big part of believing the day would never come despite his wedding invite.

"Hi," she squeaked, voice betraying too, "Uhh… Captain?"

She wasn't sure if this was a planned thing or if Isshin had masterminded the meeting behind both of their backs. Hyorinmaru – Toshiro – certainly was more collected than he had been the first time Rangiku snuck up on him, but after that experience, she would have been very surprised that he would have planned this.

"I-I, um… I didn't plan this one," she added quickly, not wanting another post-convention argument.

"T-this time it was me," he stammered nervously, his words catching Rangiku by surprise, "S-sorry."

Rangiku stared at the man in shock as his attention was suddenly pulled away by the DJ to finish off whatever task it was that he had started. Hyorinmaru had planned this meeting? As a surprise for her? Bringing in Isshin and likely Ichigo and Renji to help pull it off? Her heart skipped about five beats. This is what she had been asking him for since they'd started becoming close earlier in the year.

Music started, startling Rangiku out of her shock as she followed Hyorinmaru's line of sight to the fairy lights which were flashing in time with the rhythm of the song. Had he done that? That was incredible. She looked back at the snow-haired man as he turned back to her, ignoring the look she was receiving from the DJ (the same look she got from most men).

"My room is just upstairs," Hyorinmaru informed her, picking up his jacket as he did so, "If you wanted to go somewhere more private to talk?"

If she recalled correctly, Gin had once given her a similar invitation, the very one that had been the starting point of their relationship together. Of course, Hyorin – _Toshiro Hitsugaya_ – was not likely to be implying the same thing that Gin had. Still, was she dumb enough to accept the offer again?

The man had come all the way from wherever he had just been to see her as a part of a planned surprise for her. He had also asked her to be his date for tomorrow night's wedding and she had basically agreed so long as he actually turned up – which he now had, obviously. She kind of owed it to him now, but there was still the broken voice in her head telling her this was a bad idea – this would go south and hearts would be broken all over again.

 _But..._

She also remembered what she had talked to Isshin about exactly a fortnight ago, about how her reasoning for throwing out his last set of roses was because he didn't want to move forward with their relationship, even in a friend way, and she had cut him off because she had refused to go backwards. If she said no to his invitation, they would be going backwards and that was still a concept she rejected.

Also, the way he was looking at her with his gorgeous eyes and his hopeful expression, cheeks still a little flushed… Well, Rangiku doubted there was much she could deny that face.

"Yeah, okay," she answered, feeling a number of gazes on them – at least they could get a little more privacy for this slightly awkward encounter, "Lead the way."

His room was very basic compared to the one they had stayed in at the New York City Four Seasons, but it was still nice enough. Rangiku steered quickly away from the bed, memories of Gin pulling her down to sit beside him on his hotel mattress flashing in her mind, instead sitting herself in one of the two arm chairs by the window, separated by a small round side table.

"Did, um, did you want a glass of wine?" the CEO offered.

"Yes, please," Rangiku nodded; wine sounded good right now, hopefully it would take some of the edge off.

Her eyes scanned around the room. Other than the bits of pieces of tools and miscellaneous wired-things she couldn't identify, he appeared to be a rather neat man. She turned her gaze back to the man as he poured their wines; he was still small and skinny but she was glad to see it looked like he was getting healthier. Her eyes travelled over his body but stopped back at his hair. It was beautiful and very unique – much nicer than the orange he had in his hair at the convention. She wanted to touch it to see if it was a thick and as soft as it looked.

"I like the white," Rangiku nodded to his head, "It's like fresh snow."

Toshiro walked towards her with a glass of wine for her which he placed on the little side table between the two chairs and a short glass of whiskey for himself.

"Thank you," he muttered, sounding slightly like he didn't believe her, "I know Ukitake seems to have the same colour as me, think it was a birth defect."

Defect wasn't the word Rangiku would have used, 'gift' maybe. Ukitake's hair was indeed a similar shade of white, although longer and a touch thinner. She had always adored his hair too; sometime he'd even let her braid it if they were in the break room at the same time and she would call him 'Khaleesi' from Game of Thrones.

Rangiku shrugged when the man then asked about her day.

"Just work," she answered, picking up her glass of wine and sipping on it – she could tell it was an expensive brand by its taste, "Much quieter without Ichigo around."

Ichigo and Renji had started their annual leave the day before so they had a couple of days off before the wedding to prepare last minute things and then they'd be away for two more weeks on their honeymoon. While it was much quieter around the office without the strawberry yelling down the phone at one of his wedding venders or crying onto the company carpet, Rangiku certainly missed his company.

"So what inspired this little surprise anyway?" Rangiku turned the conversation around, no time for idle small talk, "I thought you wanted to take it from the wedding?"

"Oh um, a few reasons," Toshiro answered, noticeably unprepared for the question "I wanted you to be sure that I would show up. Rukia also reminded me that I'd be sitting with Ichigo at the wedding all day which means I won't be able to speak with you often so though it would be good for us to have a chat face to face before the actual wedding. More than anything though, I'm going to be trying my best to trust people a little more."

Rangiku nodded along, of course she had known that Ichigo had asked him to be a groomsmen but she'd been so caught up with whether or not he'd show up, she hadn't considered where they'd all be seated.

"I started by chatting to Rukia and Yukio recently about everything that happened between us, Ichigo too and it's cleared the air a little" the man continued, eyes averted, "I also thought maybe you'd feel better about the wedding as well if we met before it? Oh, I should probably warn you that you're sitting with Yukio and Rukia tomorrow, so I'm sorry in advance."

The man looked a little alarmed at that last point and Rangiku instantly felt it too. Sitting next to his two best friends that she barely knew for a whole evening? Boy was she going to have to bring her charm.

She straightened a little at the comment about him opening up to Rukia and Yukio about their history, remembering how Rukia had clearly been unaware of it when she had popped by Rangiku's office to talk to her and Ichigo's Pride Month idea.

"Oh?" Rangiku looked at him with interest, "Rukia came to my office a few weeks ago and I could tell she didn't know about it. I'm glad you've been able to open up to her and Yukio since."

She offered him a small smile, but in hindsight, it might have come off a little sad looking, the sting she had felt at the time resurfacing.

Toshiro seemed to instantly detect her sadness and Rangiku only had a second to notice the sudden strength and courage building within him before he was in front of her in only a few quick strides. Her body froze as his lips were suddenly on her forehead, pressing as gently and softly as possible, his hand on her back comfortingly. It was a very chaste and sweet exchange before he quickly stepped back away from her.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he murmured.

Rangiku's hand unconsciously moved to touch the spot on her forehead where he had kissed her and a soft smile broke across her lips. Despite all the anger and sadness she had held for this man over the last few months, a love-struck gooey teenage voice in her mind was telling her never to wash that spot again.

Glancing back up at the Zeltrix CEO, Rangiku decided she wanted to put it all behind them. It seemed he genuinely wanted to be here in that room with her and maybe there was still a potential for them to move forward.

She flashed him a stupid grin signalling her acceptance of his apology, as well as her acceptance of his wedding date invitation.

"So Toshiro," she let his name linger on her lips, loving the sound of it, "What time will you be picking me up tomorrow night?"


	6. The Wedding, finally

**Lethan and I role played this entire chapter ahaha**

…

Rangiku flew around her apartment in a whirlwind of panic, Haineko chasing after her thinking it was a game they were playing. Several times, the strawberry blonde almost stepped on the poor thing.

Hyorinmaru would be arriving any minute to pick her up for Ichigo and Renji's wedding – Toshiro Hitsugaya was picking her up for her date!

She had been ready for hours, to be honest, not wanting to be late on her first date, especially as Toshiro would need to return to Ichigo's side before the majority of the guests arrived to the ceremony. Still, as 3pm wore closer, the panic well and truly began to set in.

Going against her 'New Rangiku' epiphany in New York, she bought some new makeup just to be used for special occasions - nothing too drastic, just foundation, mascara and a touch of lipstick so that people could see her lips and eyes – as well as some black heels. Again, only for special occasions since none of her flat shoes went with the new dress she had bought for the evening.

It was a bold red, and a touch low cut around the neckline, but with her new modest size chest, it actually gave her confidence to wear something like that. Fortunately the scars from the surgery were on the undersides of her breasts so they couldn't be seen.

Unable to purchase some new contacts in time, Rangiku would have to wear her glasses today, but she opted for her thick black frames that would match her black shoes and help the mascara to frame her eyes. At least if she got a little too drunk, she wouldn't accidently forget to take her glasses off at the end of the night as she might forget to take her contacts out.

A knock at the door startled her and for a minute she was offended, like 'how dare someone knock and interrupt her panic while she waits for her date?', but a glance at her watch told her it was 3pm and likely her date at the door. She froze, halfway through adjusting her necklace and turned to stare at Haineko with a 'what do I do?' expression, the kitten only looking back at her blankly.

"You're no help," she hissed softly at the cat before scooping the kitten up and heading over to the door.

Toshiro looked good. Not that she should have been surprised, but after seeing him in a joker cosplay and then half covered in dust with tools hanging out of his mouth, the formal suit attire was a big change. It fitted his body superbly and the pale blue tie matched the winter theming of the event.

She pulled him inside quickly, kissing him on the cheek automatically before flushing at her action.

"Sorry uhh, habit," Rangiku could feel the rambling coming on and just hoped he didn't look around her dodgy apartment, "You look good, really, really good."

"Nothing," Toshiro said quickly, confusing her for a second before he clarified, "I mean nothing c-compared to you… y-you look stunning."

Rangiku flushed more at his stammered compliments. He was so shy and adorable; she just wanted to cuddle him.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"Who?" she asked, feeling so swept up in his presence she had lost concentration until she followed his gaze to the little kitten in her hand, "Oh the cat! Yes, I um, I got a cat. Her name is Haineko; Ichigo's not a fan…"

She lightly scratched the kitty behind its ears, Haineko closing her eyes and purring appreciatively.

"Uhh do you, um, do you like cats?" she asked, frowning suddenly unsure what to do with the thing, "You're not allergic, are you?!"

She was suddenly alarmed by that thought.

"I'm not allergic," he confirmed, "I don't mind cats to be honest. Actually Yukio and I used to volunteer at an animal shelter when we were starting out our company."

He was too adorable for Rangiku to cope. He had volunteered at an animal shelter?! How was a woman supposed to handle that level of cuteness without squealing? He then told her he wasn't a snake fan which Rangiku could only agree with after dating Gin. Still Rangiku kept her squeals down, only grinning at the man until he handed her a clouded box.

"It's for you," he mumbled, teal eyes meeting her blue for a moment.

She took the box out of his hands, confused look on her face; he had bought her a gift? She opened and almost melted.

"You got me a corsage?" she asked, smiling stupidly as she reached in and pulled the single rose on a band of braided vine and ribbon, "And it's the last rose…"

Rangiku stared at it for a minute, allowing the happiness of this moment to wash over her. The last rose… well it had let to some special eventually, even if it was different to what he might of originally planned. She held it out for him as well as her wrist so he could attach it for her. With nervous fingers he managed to get it on to her wrist, taking her hand again and kissing above her knuckles just as he had the evening before.

"A-are you ready to go?"

Rangiku took her wrist back and observed the rose sitting daintily on it, matching with the colour of dress. She continued smiling at it; she hadn't worn one of these since prom.

"Yes, just let me grab a coat," Rangiku said quickly, putting the cat back on the floor and moving to the bedroom to locate her long black coat that would match her shoes and glasses.

"Sorry it's such a shitty apartment," Rangiku called; suddenly realising she had left her billionaire date in her trashy living room. She grabbed the coat and hurried back to the man, "It's not quite the fancy hotels you'd be used to."

She grabbed her clutch and keys off the bench and, upon checking Haineko was distracted trying to rip her sofa to pieces, opened her front door and stood aside to let him out first.

He told her he loved her apartment because it was hers, but she could tell he wasn't entirely impressed with her hallway or the billions of stairs. It was an uncomfortable place, and a smelly one at times, so she couldn't really argue it.

"I had a really nice apartment that had amazing views of the city but I couldn't afford it when I left Game Station," Rangiku frowned as they exited her building, remembering the stress of being unemployed for months, "And then I was saving up to move once I started at Zeltrix, but you know…"

She gestured slightly to her breasts, the surgery of which had cost thousands, but was immediately distracted when they arrived at a very sleek, black Mercedes.

"This is your car?!" Rangiku exclaimed, turning to face Toshiro as he held a car door open for her, "Holy shit."

It wasn't the prettiest or most graceful language she could have used but she had never seen something so gorgeous in her life. She slipped into the passenger seat, jaw slack. There were buttons and knobs everywhere, the leather seats were pristine and it appeared to have lots of modern features.

"Holy shit," she repeated again, lost for words as Toshiro walked around the car and slipped into the driver's seat.

The Mercedes revved to life and Rangiku grinned; it even sounded sexy.

"Rangiku, I know you had your reasons for getting the surgery done, I'll admit it did surprise me. But whatever the reasons I'm sorry again if I played any part of it," Toshiro sighed after the car took off, "You look amazing, you've always looked amazing, but if you need help moving to somewhere safer then let me know. I bought Rukia a place closer to work when she started working for me, I'm happy to do the same thing for you."

"It wasn't you," Rangiku told him quickly, seeing the flash of guilt over his face, "I've wanted it since I was young."

Gin too had been a big trigger but she didn't feel like bringing the name up again.

"And thank you, for the compliments and the offer," Rangiku smiled at him, "But I don't want to use you like that, I'll save up on my own."

Toshiro was a billionaire and very modest about it so she was sure he probably would have bought her an apartment without a second thought but she was a little too independent for that. She also wasn't sure exactly what their relationship was anymore, and if it was leading to a proper romance she didn't want people to make assumptions that she was using him for his money or anything like that.

"Besides the building isn't that bad," Rangiku continued, trying to put his mind at ease, "I mean there's definitely an old perv on the third floor but he's in a wheelchair so how harmful can he be? Plus there is this really nice Armenian lady at the end of my hallway who sometimes bakes cookies for everyone in the building…"

"Well you'll be welcome to spend as many nights as you want at mine if you need to get away, you and Haineko," he offered, causing Rangiku to smile internally as she watched the buildings sweep past her window as they sped across the motorway.

He started telling her about all the people who liked to spend time at his place, making it feel like a real family oriented place, she was about to comment on how lovely that all sounded when Toshiro suddenly informed that Yukio and Rukia had gotten together, after months and months of being so clueless about their feelings.

"What?!" Rangiku exclaimed, startled by the news and forgetting everything he had said previous to it, "They're finally dating?"

She had grabbed his arm automatically at the surprise but thankfully they had stopped the car by that point. After months and months of hearing about the will-they-wont-they relationship that Toshiro's best friends seemed to hold, Rangiku had found herself highly invested in the outcome of that situation.

"This is amazing," she laughed, "I'm so happy for them."

At least now she had something she could talk to them about when they were sitting beside her during the reception, something to distract them from her nervousness.

"I'll introduce you to them when we get inside," Toshiro smiled and her heart melted, he then reached out a hand for her to take.

Rangiku took his offered hand as she got out of the car and held it tightly as they made their way inside towards where the ceremony would be taking place, not giving him much of a chance to let go. She would have if she sensed his anxiety flaring up but right now he seemed to growing more comfortable with her and she was growing more nervous as they had reached his friends.

Of course she had met Rukia once, but that was before she knew about them. Rangiku was very concerned they wouldn't approve of her, or that they'd be angry over what she did at the convention that sent their friend into a downward spiral.

They found the two friends quickly enough, Toshiro introducing them swiftly. Rangiku observed the new couple; they were both relatively short, rivalling Toshiro's own lack of height, and had that new relationship glow. Yukio's hair was as gold and as wild as the sun and his two green eyes were bright and full of happiness and potential cheekiness. It was funny how Rukia seemed to be almost opposite in her colouring with her midnight darkness hair and dark violet eyes.

Apparently she was worried for nothing though, if the big smiles she received in greeting and Yukio's obvious wink were anything to go by.

"Ignore him," Rukia rolled her eyes at her new boyfriend, "It's wonderful to properly meet you, outside the office."

"It's much nicer," Rangiku agreed, automatically stepping forward to kiss them both on the cheeks – she didn't notice how affectionate she was until she was suddenly meeting all these new people, "I feel like I already know so much about you both from Toshiro."

She sent the white haired man a small wink of her own, "He's always telling me such lovely things about you guys."

"Awww, aren't you a delight," Yukio cooed mockingly to Toshiro before turning back to her, "Don't worry Rangiku, you can sit with us while Toshiro goes and fulfils his duties for the day, we've got so many interesting stories to tell you…"

The grin on the blond man's face was absolutely evil, and they way that the colour flooded to Toshiro's face made her insanely curious to hear these stories but at the same time terrified for her date. Isshin was calling his name and it was clear that the CEO was torn between going and ripping his best friend's head off, a strangled sound ripping from his throat that was kind of sexy, actually.

"I'm sorry I've got to go," Toshiro turned to her, looking painfully afraid of leaving Yukio in her presence, "Don't trust anything he tells you."

He leaned down to once again kiss her hand before turning sharply and taking off to Isshin's side who would likely be leading him to Ichigo who was out of sight for the moment.

"Did he just kiss your hand?" Rukia blinked at her disbelievingly.

"For the third time in twenty-four hours," Rangiku grinned, holding her hand out towards Rukia as if she could see the kisses left behind. As invisible as they were, Rangiku could still feel them tingling her skin happily.

Both Rukia and Yukio looked impressed at that.

The celebrant announced the ceremony was about to begin, asking them all to take a seat.

Ichigo had been planning the ceremony all year and it was, as expected, absolutely breathtaking to watch. Both he and Renji had worn white to match their snow theme, and both had been walked down the aisle by their very loving and accepting fathers. Rangiku could feel herself getting emotional as she watched Isshin give Ichigo away, her mind flashing back to that young sulky teenager she had once babysat who was now so grown up and becoming a husband. Managing to keep her emotions to herself, Rangiku was finding herself quite proud of her achievement but it all went to hell when – surprising everyone in the audience – Renji was suddenly the one to choke up with tears through his vows. After months of having Ichigo crying on the office floor, Rangiku was rather desensitised to it and in fact, the strawberry was holding himself together quite well. But seeing the normally painfully stoic, couldn't-give-a-fuck Renji suddenly overcome with emotion for his husband-to-be… well, Rangiku couldn't help the happy tears that followed.

"Damn it," she muttered searching for tissues in her clutch, before she was suddenly handed one by an equally teary Rukia.

"We can't let these dorks ruin our makeup," she muttered, dabbing her own eyes carefully.

Yukio ignored them, keeping his focus on the ceremony in front of them but Rangiku could have sworn his eyes looked a little glassy as the rings were exchanged.

…

The new grooms, their party of groomsmen, including Toshiro, and their immediate families disappeared shortly after the ceremony to shoot some professional photographs while Rangiku and the rest of the guests mingled in the reception area, grabbing drinks and finding their tables.

Rangiku was indeed sat beside Rukia and Yukio, the three of them sharing a table with a few of the other Zeltrix staff, mostly from the marketing department which was of great comfort to Rangiku. One of her staff members, her intern actually, was a big Yukio fan it seemed, gushing to him about his videos and barely letting the blond get a word in, while Rukia just rolled her eyes playfully and turned back to Rangiku.

"Do you think many will recognise him?" she asked, glancing around the room.

"Yukio?" Rangiku frowned, "A few, I guess."

"No, I mean Toshiro," Rukia lowered her voice, "There are a lot of people from the company here."

Rangiku nodded solemnly, "Yeah I think some of them will work it out and then the rest will hear about it through rumours. It's going to be hard for him to go unnoticed with that speech."

The raven-haired woman sighed deeply, "Well, I think if we've learned anything over the last few weeks it's that Toshiro cares more for his friends then he does his secret."

A reminder of how Toshiro had once told her that he would have still stepped in to protect her from Gin even if she had seen him first during the conference social dinner burned in her mind, not to mention the fact he'd given up hiding himself from her because he didn't want to hurt her anymore. Rangiku nodded; that was certainly something she had learned about the man.

"He has been given a choice between Ichigo and his secret," Rukia murmured, shrugging a little, "And he's chosen Ichigo. He didn't have to be here if he didn't want to, and he doesn't have to make a speech if he doesn't want to, but he's going to because he loves Ichigo."

"Toshiro is very brave," Rangiku comment and she truly believed it; the man had run once but it was clear where his loyalties ultimately lied and to face such crushing anxiety and nervousness in the face of something like giving a public speech which could potentially expose his identity to a room full of his employees, well that was incredibly courageous.

Rukia smiled at her with genuine interest.

"I'm going to like you," she commented dryly, before poking Yukio hard in the ribs to pull his attention away from Rangiku's young star stuck intern, "Oi, we're going to like her."

"Well of course we are," Yukio smirked, flashing Rangiku a wild grin, "Toshiro has excellent taste in cars, friends and ladies."

He received another hard jab in the ribs that had the blond jerking away, laughing loudly. Rangiku chuckled at the mischievous man using his napkin to bat his girlfriend's hands away and even Rukia was giggling too as she ended up in a poking war with her green-eyed boyfriend. Rangiku grinned at them as their poking war quickly turned into a hug and a chaste kiss; they were very cute together, it was a wonder why it had taken them so long to work it out.

Eventually the grooms and groomsmen arrived at the reception, Toshiro appearing suddenly at their table.

"Hey," he greeted, looking a little flustered as he fell into the chair beside her, "I hope Yukio hasn't bored you to death?"

"Yukio has been a gentleman," Rangiku confirmed with a sly, trying to lighten his mood a little, "… Mostly."

"So mean," Yukio laughed in mock offence before he sobered up a touch, "You alright?"

"Fine," Toshiro answered rapidly, as if he'd been anticipating the question, but he didn't exactly look confident with himself.

She could feel the nerves radiating off him and saw the knowing glance that was then exchanged by Rukia and Yukio at his all too quick response. Ichigo had told her about the speech Toshiro had agreed to make and knew that it was likely what was flaring up his anxiety now, not to mention the fact that the Zeltrix people kept staring and whispering as they theorized on whether or not he was the elusive Hyorinmaru.

"The ceremony was beautiful," Rangiku murmured, taking his hand back in hers, "It's clear they love each other very much."

Moving her thumb along the bumps of his knuckles, and relishing the feeling of his soft skin against hers, Rangiku hoped that if she could draw his attention back to the couple they were celebrating tonight, and his friendship with them, then maybe he could find the strength to get through his speech.

Toshiro's focus turned to their linked hands as she hoped it would as he listened to her words. He must have considered her point because eventually he sighed and pulled himself out of his chair, thanking her before disappearing back to the head table.

…

The room erupted in applause; Yukio's claps were so loud they almost burst her eardrums, and Rukia threw in a couple of loud whistles. Rangiku bounced excitedly in her chair as she cheered with them.

There had been jokes, sincerity and hilarious visual aids in the form of embarrassing photos of Ichigo. Rangiku had laughed so much her sides hurt. She was going to have to get a copy of some of those photos for herself.

Toshiro had done an incredible job! The room was in fits of laughter, Ichigo was in tears and Isshin was beaming at his boys proudly; that was the main criteria of a best man's speech and Toshiro had nailed it, despite his shaky start.

Catching Toshiro's eyes across the room, she sent him a double thumbs up and silently mouthed, "You were amazing!"

In return, the CEO sent her a playful wink across the room, causing Rangiku to still for a second.

"Did he really just…?" Yukio laughed, leaning across her as if to get a closer look at the man, "That sly son of a-"

Rangiku melted – quite literally melted – so much so that Rukia actually put her hand on her arm to steady her.

"He winked at me!" Rangiku swooned, hand over her heart which was practically exploding, "Guys, he winked at me!"

"We saw," Rukia laughed, holding her upright, "It was very suave."

Rangiku grinned like an idiot; wow was that man so unaware of his own charm.

"Rangiku, allow me to enlighten you on the day I thought I walked in on Toshiro watching porn," Yukio said, leaning forward with a grin.

"Here we go," Rukia rolled her eyes.

"So I don't knock on his door, I like to just barge in and we'd been sharing a suite in the hotel when I did just that. I've never seen someone shut their laptop screen over so fast in all my life. Naturally assumptions were to be made; he was sitting half dressed, blushing furiously and his laptop screen just quickly shut over. The logical thought… porn! So I walked over and after a very brief wrestle opened his laptop screen and guess what I discovered? You," he chuckled, "He'd been trying to stalk pictures of you. That was about… seven months ago."

Rangiku's jaw dropped at Yukio's story, her face heating up.

"Pictures of me?" she squeaked, pointing to herself disbelievingly, "Like… me, me? As in Rangiku Matsumoto, me?"

Seven months ago?! That was a long time ago. That was when she had only been at Zeltrix for a couple of months and still hadn't quite worked out her feelings for the man, and he'd been looking at photos of her?

Her eyes located the man in question across the room, talking with Ichigo and Isshin, looking so relieved to have gotten through his speech. Suddenly her blood ran cold. What photos had he seen? Her Facebook, her Instagram? Oh gods, not her old Myspace please! That was the most embarrassing collection of photos to exist online. She had a front fringe back then for goodness sake!

"You're a dick," Rukia muttered to Yukio, watching as Rangiku's face grew redder.

"Drink's anyone?" Yukio asked suddenly, standing abruptly from the table and scampering away.

"What did he do?" Toshiro's voice asked before Rangiku even knew he had returned to the table, causing her to jump a little.

"Oh um," Rangiku blushed, "He's just… uhh, told us a story..."

She didn't know what to do; she didn't want to lie, but at the same time she didn't want him to be embarrassed by the truth and seem like she was ratting out Yukio at the same time.

"The not-exactly-porn story," Rukia cut in not at all helpfully with a dramatic eye roll, standing up, "I'll go kick him up the ass for you, Tosh, don't worry."

The raven-haired girl disappeared quickly, leaving Rangiku alone with Toshiro, face bright red.

She turned to Toshiro slowly, nervous smile, "It uhh… it wasn't my old Myspace was it?"

"No, it wasn't your Myspace," he sighed, "I'd just been offloading on IT about them taking so long to update your Skype picture. When it came through it was my first time seeing you that's all… I promise my intentions were pure."

Toshiro dragged his hand away from his face and Rangiku grimaced at his bright red face.

"I didn't – I don't- I mean I do! I just…" Toshiro collapsed into his chair between stammers, looking thoroughly mortified, "Can we change the topic?"

Rangiku listened to his story, and let the relief wash over that he hadn't seen her old embarrassing pictures. He looked so embarrassed and awkward that Rangiku sighed and leaned across him, propping her elbow up on his shoulder, ignoring the fact that this was the closest their bodies had ever been.

"I would have done the same thing," she admitted, shrugging a little, "If I had your name and knew if you had social media accounts. It's natural curiosity."

She reached blindly for her phone and brought it over to them, unlocking the screen and searching through her gallery.

"Do you want to hear my own embarrassing story?" she asked, whispering so no one would over hear. She brought up the photo she had taken of the photo of his silhouette that had been pinned to his board in the private jet. At the time she'd been pretty sure it was him, even though it was just a silhouette, but now, having seen him in person, she was positive it was him in the photograph. "So I figured this was a photo of you, and I kept my own copy. The night of the conference I couldn't fall asleep until I looked at this photo, and then after everything that happened afterwards, I still couldn't delete it. The night you called me and explained everything, I stared at it for an hour…."

"Rangiku…"

When he turned to face her, Toshiro had brought their faces very close together, and the way he said her name had Rangiku crumbling.

She closed what little gap there was left between them and pressed their lips together. His lips were soft and unsure, and just that little bit sweet; Rangiku wanted to know what they really tasted like but she wasn't going to overwhelm him in case he wasn't ready. She pulled back swiftly, knowing entirely what it was like to be kissed when you didn't want to be kissed, and searched for answers in his eyes.

Just as it looked like Toshiro, with a little flame of confidence igniting in his eye, looked as though he was going to kiss her back, they were rudely interrupted by his two friends.

"Don't mind us," Yukio grinned, waving nonchalantly, "Do carry on."

Rangiku flushed just as bright as Toshiro, if not worse, and hastily stood from the table.

"I'm going to get a drink," she informed them quickly, well aware she was pulling a Yukio, before turning to Toshiro, "Do you want anything? What do you want? Never mind, I'll work it out."

Quickly escaping from the table, Rangiku made her way to the bar figuring she was going to need a drink or twenty to keep up the embarrassment Yukio and Rukia seemed to be toying them with. To her delight, she found Ichigo at the bar.

"Mr Abarai," she greeted him excitedly, pulling him in for a hug, "I'm still upset you didn't go for the triple hyphen. Ichigo Kurosaki-Shiba-Abarai would have been something really special."

"Ran," he grinned at her and laughed, "Did you enjoy the ceremony?"

"Of course I did!" Rangiku exclaimed, laughing and nudging him gently, "I wouldn't have got so emotional if Renji didn't lose it up there."

Ichigo grinned the widest and happiest possibly smile, "He was so cute!"

The bar man turned towards Ichigo and smiled at him.

"Well, Mr Abarai," he drawled, "What will you be drinking?"

"Four shots of tequila," Ichigo said quickly, "And two more glasses of champagne, please."

Rangiku's eyes bulged; four shots of tequila?! Ichigo laughed at her reaction.

"Two for you, two for me," Ichigo explained, "My first dance is next and I need to take the edge off, I'm about to dance in front of everyone!"

The shots were poured in front of them and immediately Ichigo handed her two. He didn't give her any time to even hesitate, as he picked his own two up and double cheers-ed her before sinking both shots within seconds, Rangiku following suit – she wasn't going to turn down one of the grooms on his wedding night now was she? Also, she too had come to the bar to try and take the edge off and a double shot of tequila did just that.

"How's Tosh treating you?" Ichigo asked, after shaking off his post-tequila taste cringe.

"He's gorgeous," Rangiku smiled, "A real gentleman."

Ichigo grinned, "You guys are cute."

The orange-haired groom sent her a wink before grabbing his two glasses of champagne and retreating towards the dancefloor, handing one glass to his new husband.

Rangiku rolled her eyes and turned back to the bar man, ordering a glass of champagne for herself and a double of whiskey for Toshiro, the same brand he'd been drinking the previous night in his hotel room. The glass of champagne may or may not have been half empty by the time she approached the table, handing Toshiro the drink and preparing for the next load of embarrassment from the evil couple opposite them.

"I don't think you should tonight anyway, it's Ichigo and Renji's wedding," Toshiro was saying as Rangiku lowered herself back into her seat, "It would be a bit rude wouldn't it?"

"No," Rukia chuckled, "Toshiro, that's not how weddings work. Just because it's their wedding doesn't mean no one else is allowed to have sex."

Rangiku faltered hearing the end of Toshiro's and Rukia's conversation before her lips stretched into a huge grin; did he honestly think that only the newlyweds were allowed to have sex on their wedding night? Had he never been to a wedding before or watched any wedding related movies? Weddings were major pick up events for single people.

"Oh… Well maybe you should initiate it," Toshiro frowned to himself before turning back to Rangiku, "Thank you for the drink and I'm sorry about my friends' terrible company."

"Yeah sorry Rangiku," Rukia smiled sheepishly, "We didn't mean to embarrass you, only Toshiro."

She grinned and ran her fingers through his hair.

"You are so sweet," she told him, giggling a little as the tequila shots and champagne bubbles went to her brain a little

He really was the sweetest and in a good way; it was a little dorky but she found that so attractive. She would take dorky and cute over a smooth-talking player any day.

The reaction was incredible to watch. She hadn't expected it at all from such a simple gesture. All she had wanted to know was if his hair was truly as soft as it looks (it was), but the man shivered and practically moaned as her fingers glided through his white locks.

"That felt good," Toshiro hummed, voice low and content.

She raised a surprised and excited eyebrow at him, her fingers coming to rest at the hairline on the back of his neck. She shot him a coy smile while lightly scratching his scalp.

"Good to know," she murmured, glad Yukio and Rukia were momentarily distracted. This piece of information would potentially be very useful in future.

The lights dimmed and the whole room turned to watch as Renji led Ichigo onto the dancefloor, the grooms hand in hand. They had stuck to their original choice was 'Is This Love' by Bob Marley, but had found a slower, acoustic cover. The men held each other and swayed; they had done dance lessons in the weeks leading up to the wedding but it seemed that any choreographed moments they had planned went out the window, the two newlyweds too caught up with each other and their special moment.

Forgetting for a moment that the room was full of people, Rangiku could tell the two grooms felt like they were the only two in the room. Eyes closed, foreheads touching, holding each other, they continued to sway, occasionally their lips coming together for sweet kisses.

Rangiku felt a sadness sink in her that she had never had that sort of relationship before, no one had ever held her the way those men were holding each other. She had never known a love like that before.

Glancing at Toshiro, Rangiku smiled softly; maybe, just maybe, she would know a love like that one day.

Toshiro smiled back at her as the song ended and the grooms kissed again, the room clapping for them.

The lights stayed dim as the music changed to a song Rangiku didn't recognise and the DJ called for all the guests to come up for a dance. It was another slow, romantic song so mostly couples headed out to the dancefloor, but there was some other cute pairs entering the floor; Renji began to dance with his mother, Ichigo with Yuzu and Isshin with Karin.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rangiku saw Yukio turn back to Rukia, his hand held out for her.

"My lady?" he asked, and she could practically hear the grin in his voice.

She glanced over to see Rukia once again roll her eyes but her smile was genuine as she took the blond's hand and together they walked out on to the dancefloor.

Nervousness pooled in Rangiku's stomach as couple by couple, almost everyone moved towards the dance floor. As much as she wanted Toshiro to ask her, she wasn't sure he'd be confident enough, and the last thing she wanted to do was pressure him. She didn't have to pressure him though, the whole room was. At this rate they were going to be the only couple still sitting down, which Rangiku could live with if it made Toshiro felt better, but obviously it had gotten to him.

He stood, hand reaching out to her, and asking her to dance, a happy and only slightly twitching grin on his face.

"Do you want to dance?"

She had a psychology degree and recognized a brave face when she saw it; still she accepted his offer, wanting to encourage him stepping a little outside his comfort zone if that's what he wanted to do.

"I'd love to," she smiled at him, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up and out of her seat.

There were lots of interested eyes on them as they took to the dancefloor, but Rangiku did her best to ignore them, especially the all too suggestive gesture a tipsy Ichigo was sending her way. Hands on her hips surprised her, but in a positive way. She did the appropriate thing and put her hands on his shoulders as he pulled her just that little bit closer, but as the song wore on, the tequila settled in her head, Rangiku arms came closer until they were stretched over his shoulders and linked behind his neck.

She was extremely glad for the dimmed lights because she was definitely blushing a little, feeling very warm in her face, although that could have just been the alcohol. The song continued and she could tell it was coming to an end. Rangiku gazed into her dance partner's beautiful teal eyes and smiled; she was very happy right now. Part of her wanted him to try and kiss her again, but another part of her didn't want that with all the wedding guests pretending not to glance their way every so often. It was hard enough for her to imagine herself intimate with anyone again after Gin, and it was even harder to work on it in front of people.

The romance of the moment was killed in an instant, when the infamous Ganju suddenly ripped Toshiro away from her, insisting the CEO joined him for a dance.

"Look I can see you're all wrapped up with this beautiful woman," Ganju slurred, obviously drunk as skunk, "But before she goes stealing you off the market I want a dance."

Rangiku's jaw dropped as her date was forced into a chair as the music changed to a much more upbeat, sexual song, the Shiba man beginning to what could only be described as a stripper's opening routine.

"Ran, I'm getting us more shots," Ichigo announced, startling her as he appeared randomly by her side, "I've requested our song to come up next."

"What song?" Rangiku frowned, not remembering having a special song with Ichigo.

"You'll see," the groom winked before turning towards the bar and yelling, "Let's get this party started!"

Turning back to check on her date who was looking extremely uncomfortable and a little bit mad as he held a stumbling Ganju up. Rangiku frowned; she knew exactly what that it was like to have someone seriously intoxicated trying to force themselves on her, just as Ganju appeared to be doing to Toshiro. Not that she could blame the man for having a crush, Toshiro was gorgeous after all, but he was certainly going the wrong way about it. She was almost about to step in herself when Isshin finally saved him, pulling Ganju away.

She quickly glanced at Ichigo at the bar, filling up a tray of shots, before turning back as Toshiro made a speedy escape towards her. Offering up a sympathetic smile, Rangiku opened up her arms for hug.

"Are you okay?" she asked, grimacing, "Thank goodness for Isshin, right?"

"Isshin could have stepped in earlier," Toshiro muttered, sighing a little, "Do you want a drink?"

Before Rangiku could answer, Ichigo reappeared beside them, once again startling her, a tray of shots in his hands.

"Okay lovebirds," the groom sung, "I've got tequila, I've got vodka, lets drink up because Ran and I are about to tear it up on the dancefloor."

"To our song?" Rangiku laughed, taking one shot of tequila off the tray, "You still haven't told me what it is."

Ichigo observed her take one shot of the tray and laughed, handing her an extra two shots with a 'you wouldn't turn me down on my wedding day now, would you?' face.

"It's Tik Tok by Kesha," Ichigo answered, taking a shot of his own.

"Why is that our song?!" Rangiku asked, bewildered and making a face as she downed her second of three shots.

"Because we killed it at that gay club last month," Ichigo told her, as if that had been the most obvious answer in the world.

Right, Rangiku remembered now. Last month when she had been down about the Hyorinmaru situation, Ichigo had grown tired of her moping and dragged her out to a gay club (since no man was going to try and hit on her there). They had both gotten a little too drunk and, as Renji had told them the next day, 'lit up the D-Floor', with their enthusiastic and wild, but extremely drunken, dance moves.

Ichigo held out a shot to Toshiro, "Come on Tosh, drink up. I promise I'll return her in one piece… probably."

By the time Rangiku managed to throw back the third shot, the first was already hitting her; Mexico's finest burning in her chest and her mind. She felt lightheaded, and very warm, but hey, she was still upright and the pain in her feet from wearing heels for the first time in months was starting to subdue.

"Maybe you two should slow down?" Toshiro suggested lightly, "Three shots in a row is enough to take down even the most resilient of people."

Rangiku grinned; had she mentioned how cute he was yet?

"I'll be back in a sec," Rangiku reached out and patted her date's head, "I promised the groom a dance."

"Yas Queen!" Ichigo exclaimed, clicking madly, before clutching her arm and dragging her onto the dance floor as Kesha's 'Tik Tok' began.

And danced they certainly did. Ichigo was pulling out all the classics; the sprinkler, the shopping trolley, the robot, the moonwalk, that walk from Beyoncé's Single Ladies video – all terribly, but with such enthusiasm it was of great entertainment to number of guests that had gathered around to watch them. Rangiku, feeling lighter than a feather and much cooler than Ichigo by comparison, also pulled out a number of Beyoncé moves, hoping that it was working better for her than it was for her dance partner – she did have the Beyoncé hips that Ichigo simply didn't . At one point, Isshin had joined them on the floor, but his dancing days were short lived when he pulled a muscle trying start a conga line and had to be escorted off by Yuzu.

It wound up eventually when Ichigo, with the confidence of the crowd he'd gathered, decided to attempt the perilous 'worm' move. It failed dramatically, but thankfully he didn't hurt himself. The strawberry managed to worm down to the floor okay but couldn't manage to keep the flow going, ending up sprawled out on the sticky dancefloor. Rangiku was in a fit of giggles as she helped him back up, impressed with her own good balance now that the tequila was well and truly dominating her body. The groom was heavy though, but thankfully Renji was there to help take him off her hands.

"Who's the better dancer, Renji?" Ichigo asked, seemingly unaware of his own volume.

"Rangiku by far," Renji chuckled, fist bumping her as the full weight of Ichigo transferred between them, "But you're still the one I'd prefer to bang tonight, Babe."

Ichigo's eyes lit up before he tried to wink, although much like his dancing, it was also terrible.

"Well you should see what I've got on under this tux," Ichigo practically purred, "Ran knows…"

"I do know," she laughed, "And I'm disgusted. Renji, take him away."

The redhead grinned but did as he was told, scooping his new husband up bridal-style and carrying him off the dancefloor.

It seemed the wedding would be wrapping up pretty soon, especially if the grooms were going to be ditching their own party for their private celebrations. Rangiku ignored the blur of the room as she turned to locate her date. Her eyes found him quickly, his white hair a natural beacon. She beamed and made her way back to him.

"Hi," she greeted him excitedly, grabbing his hand, "Do you want to come get some water with me?"

"Yes let's," Toshiro said enthusiastically, "That sounds like a great idea."

Aware she was still grooving along to the newest song as they walked towards the bar, Rangiku grinned madly, feeling so bouncy and excited. That was why she loved tequila so much; it just made everything seem like a good idea and like life was a cup that was always at least half full. Of course, tequila was a two-faced bitch at times and would completely screw her over in the blink of the eye, turning her to a crying mess, but generally, if Rangiku was in a good mood when she started to drink it, she'd be in the clear to have a fabulous night.

And what a fabulous night it had been. Her date was gorgeous, her dancing was, as Ichigo would say, "lit", and for the first time in her life, she finally could wear a low cut dress and now have people actually look at her eyes when they talked to her.

They made it to the bar and thankfully the bar staff had set up a free water station, so she poured two glasses of water – only missing the glass a little bit – and handed one to Toshiro. She finished her water in seconds and quickly poured another one.

"How amazing is water?" Rangiku asked, giggling, "It's so underrated. I think it's my favourite drink, except maybe wine. Okay no, definitely wine, and then water… and then maybe tea? Or coffee? No, tea. Tequila's good too but boy can she turn on you."

"Water is great," Toshiro agreed with a smile.

Nodding seriously as she thought it through, Rangiku frowned suddenly, realising who she was now rambling too about various beverages.

"Oh I'm talking too much now," she pouted, slowly sipping on her second glass of water, "I should probably go home, I guess. How far is the train station from here? Maybe I should get a taxi?"

Toshiro literally flinched at her words.

Shaking his head Toshiro quickly told her "Well, you're taking my room here. I'm not going to let you go back when I myself cannot personally escort you to see you've returned safely. You can take the bed I'll sleep on the floor. It will save you having to worry about going home tonight."

An alarm bell rang faintly in the back of her mind, followed by Gin's voice.

' _Don't be silly, Ran-chan, you can stay with me tonight. You take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch.'_

She frowned, staring deep into her water. Like hell was tequila going to turn on her now and let Gin ruin her night once again, this time from the back of her own mind.

Tequila wasn't going to do that to her, tequila was her friend. Tequila made everything seem like a good idea and staying in Toshiro's room was a good idea. It would save her the journey home and keep her off the street while intoxicated and dressed up like she was. Furthermore, there was actually no reason to insist on going home. Haineko had been fed before she left, and had spare food and water out of necessary. The kitten would be okay until tomorrow and now that's she'd taken to finally sleeping in her cosy bed instead of the box it came in, she'd be plenty warm overnight.

It was logically a very good idea to stay with Toshiro, so Rangiku put back on her smile and finished off her water.

"That sounds like a good idea," She told him and herself once again, "Thanks, Toshiro."

They held hands as they walked up to his room which was comforting but Rangiku still couldn't shake the ghost feeling of Gin's hand on the small of her back as he guided her up to his penthouse after her first Game Station Christmas party. She'd been drunk that night too, far worse in fact, and that night marked the beginning of it all. She had almost forgotten it, but luckily, tequila was here to remind her.

' _Aren't you glad you don't have to try and get home in the cold tonight? Don't worry; I'll keep you warm, Ran-chan.'_

They entered the room and Rangiku's attention was drawn straight to the bed. Toshiro was telling her something but she wasn't listening, her entire focus on the bed. It was like she had tunnel vision and the bed was the only thing in the room she could see.

' _Move over, Ran-chan, it's gettin' cold on the couch and I need someone to snuggle with.'_

Physically flinching as she remembered being drunk, half asleep and confused when Gin pulled back the covers and slithered in next to her, how dark it had been when her eyes had shot open because there was suddenly a tongue on her neck, how cold his hand had been when it slipped under her shirt and-

And just like that, it all became too much. Tequila turned on her, hard.

Rangiku staggered back, unable to breathe despite suddenly gasping for air. She felt the wall against her back as she slid down it and attempted to curl herself into a ball in the corner of the room. Her chest hurt, and Gin's voice continued to hiss in her ears.

' _You're so sexy, Ran-chan, so pretty tonight in that dress…'_

Her chest hurt more and breathing was impossible. She felt like she was drowning and dehydrated at the same time, she needed water but she couldn't breathe. Her brain was short-circuiting and no cohesive thoughts were made as her heart raced impossibly fast. She couldn't feel her own limbs and her entire body felt like it was radiating heat. Flashes of Gin's sick smile stuck in her mind, and flashbacks from the incident in his office drove spikes through her heart. The stench of his breath from the conference in New York came crashing back, and the feel of his fingertips grazing the fabric of her dress over her ass.

"Please no," Rangiku gasped, covering her eyes and willing the memories to leave her, "No, no, no, no, please no."

"Rangiku?"

Toshiro's voice was soothing in her mind, although it sounded panicked, and Rangiku's eyes filled with tears between gasps; she wanted him to be with her now, but she was all alone, her head buried between her knees and trembling violently as the waves of panic and fear rolled over her. At least that's what she thought, so lost in her own mind trap to remember how she got there, but soft skinned fingers began to stroke her hand in small, delicate circles and Rangiku remembered very quickly that she wasn't alone; Toshiro was here in the room with her.

She could hear him talking but none of the words seemed to register in her mind, except for the odd 'sorry'. He shouldn't be sorry for anything but Rangiku had no voice to tell him that. Instead she concentrated on the way his skin felt against hers, letting it pull her slowly back to reality. Her chest still hurt, but breathing eventually became less of a challenge and her heart rate gradually slowed to a less alarm pace, spiking again only when Toshiro mentioned leaving to get help.

"No, please, don't go!" Rangiku yelped, grabbing the man's wrist before he could move away, "Please, don't leave me."

She gently pulled the man closer to her like his arm was the rope of her lifeline. Gin was her fear, not Toshiro. Toshiro was kind, sweet and would never even think of doing to her what Gin did. The bed, the alcohol and situation had just been one mental trigger too many. She didn't want to go back to her lonely, cold apartment – she just wanted to feel safe and Toshiro made her feel safe.

"I'm fine," she breathed, trying to collect herself, "I just need a minute. Please stay with me, I don't want to go home… tell me a secret?"

It didn't even have to be a secret, she just wanted to hear his voice and be distracted for a moment.

Thankfully Toshiro decided to stay with her; he sat beside and leant back against the wall, pulling Rangiku into his side. Rangiku closed her eyes as her head found his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her comfortingly.

"One time, when I was about thirteen, I'd been getting bullied because of my white hair so I tried to dye it black," Toshiro began after a moment, "After saving up my pocket money I bought the wrong dye and got that horrible black blue colour which just ended up being an even lighter blue in my hair. I don't think the colour stuck very well, my hair is difficult to dye another colour. So the colour wasn't even close to black. When I went into school the other kids were laughing at me but that's actually when I first met Ichigo. He stood up for me and it was how we started speaking. We didn't realise that I was actually friends with his sister Karin because we played football together."

Rangiku let his voice wash over her and the story sink into her memory. She liked learning personal thing about him.

"Anyway I can't remember how long after it was but I remembered Karin talking about their babysitter and how girly she was. When we were walking back from football practice one day I actually saw you," Toshiro continued, "I didn't make the connection for a while, only recently in fact but I'm sure it was you now that Isshin and Ichigo confirmed you were their babysitter. I just remembered that she was beautiful with long strawberry blond hair and I didn't know what to do with myself so I hid in the bush in the other neighbour's garden. Karin made fun of me for it for weeks and I tried to avoid coming around when you were there because I knew she'd say something to you if I did."

Toshiro's story made her smile from her position, curled up under his arm. He was so warm beside her. She could smell his cologne which was a much lighter and elegant fragrance to the overpowering sex-smelling one Gin often opted for. Rangiku couldn't help but compare the two men – they were just so different. Toshiro took the time to sit with her and get vulnerable, holding her and patiently soothing away her panic, whereas Gin would either tried to have sex with her or would have simply walked off, muttering about 'bitch goin' crazy, probably that time of the month'.

Focusing on her breathing, Rangiku closed her eyes and let her date's whole story wash over her while her fingers played idly with one of his shirt buttons. It was hard to imagine him with blue hair, or black for that matter. In fact it was hard to imagine him with any other colour than white, and she had once seen it orange, but it hadn't suited; the white was just too beautiful and iconic to his image, she wouldn't want to see it any other way. As beautiful as his eyes were, Rangiku was starting to think his hair could give them a run for their money in terms of attractiveness.

"You know I never really got the whole 'crush' thing," Rangiku admitted, her voice still a little shaky but definitely improving, "My friend Orihime had crushes all the time, and still does. Like every week it was another guy and she would turn into an absolute mess around them. She'd even act dumber and I just never understood that. Then our other friend Nanao had her first crush ever on our history teacher, and she was normally so composed and serious but as soon as she saw him, she just turned to goo. She'd be bright red all through class and always stutter around him, she said she couldn't control it."

Rangiku chuckled a little remembering her uptight friend daydreaming with a goofy look on her face. At one point, Rangiku even found her writing the teacher's name in a notepad, surrounded by hearts.

"So I guess I understood what it looked like, but I never really felt it," Rangiku murmured, shrugging a little. She'd never really had a chance to; men just threw themselves at her and expected her to want them back. Sometimes she did want their attention but never had she been excited to talk to one or blushed at something they said. Never had she felt like turning to goo when they smiled at her, never had her heart rate gone crazy because they were making eye contact with her or because they had winked at her. Never had she been heartbroken because they didn't want her back (because they never not wanted her). Well, never until Toshiro.

"Until you," she mumbled that last bit out loud, feeling strong enough to raise her head to look at him, "I think you are my first crush."

"It's hard to believe that you were my first and last crush," Toshiro murmured to her, "My last because I can't imagine caring for anyone else the way I care for you, nor would I ever want to."

She didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on her lips; he obviously wanted to kiss her, but he didn't, which Rangiku was very glad for. It wasn't that she didn't want him to kiss her, because she really did, but she was still a tad drunk and recovering from a short but severe panic attack and she was scared a kiss might trigger her again. The last thing she wanted was for that to happen; it would definitely ruin the kiss for a start, but more than that, it could potentially crush any and all confidence Toshiro had to ever kiss her in future.

Her already fairly erratic heart rate seemed to skip a beat as he essentially told her she was the only woman for him.

"So if we are each other's crushes, what does that mean for us?" Rangiku asked softly, suddenly finding the hotel carpet very fascinating to look at, "What does that mean for you and international business work?"

AKA the fact he was almost never in Japan.

She felt the very familiar sense of dread pooling in her stomach with that question, considering it so closely related to all the times she had asked to meet up. Of course, Toshiro had since admitted feelings for her, but there was still a very real chance Rangiku was getting in over her head with thinking they could possibly have a future together.

'I will still travel with Yukio, but not nearly as much as I have been." Toshiro answered after a moment of thought, "Truth is we only went travelling for conventions but it gave me an excuse to stay away. Now I have reason to be here. The other members of my team have seen me now since Ichigo invited them all to the wedding. There's no denying that they'll have recognised my voice after all our monthly one to ones, so maybe I'll start doing them face to face. I likely won't come into the office as much as I trust my team I don't know about some of the younger members of the office. So I'll likely rent out another small office space and host my meetings there, somewhere close to the Zeltrix building. When Yukio is invited to a panel or event, I'll jump on a plane and go with him but it won't be for any more than a week at a time I'm sure.'

Eyebrows shooting up, Rangiku was surprised at his answer. He seemed to be thinking out loud but somehow still the answer seemed well thought through as if he had considered his options before. Maybe he had, or maybe it was just his CEO side of him – the ultimate planner – that could see so long term, but either way it was far from the vague non-committal response she had told herself to expect and mentally prepare for.

"I may have to travel on business from time to time, and it's unavoidable." Toshiro continued, "However I'd like to think that if you're free you'll come with me?"

Smiling at his question, Rangiku saw fleeting images of the two of them exploring a foreign city together, grinning and laughing, hand in hand, and full of happiness.

"Can we take the private jet?" she grinned up at him cheekily.

"Well I do usually take the jet everywhere," Toshiro chuckled, "So it would make sense, but I do have one condition… My condition is that I get to put a picture of you on my memory board of the jet."

Rangiku smiled softly, "I think we can arrange that."

As excited as she was by his answer and offer, it did leave an unsettling feeling in her stomach. Although the term romantic relationship had been left unsaid, it had been heavily implied. Rangiku so desperately wanted that kind of connection with the teal eyed man, but if tonight had proved anything, it was that she wasn't quite ready to be getting so... physically intimate again. Toshiro was kind enough to not force her or ask her for more than she was willing to give, but he was a red blooded male and surely his patience would run thin eventually. She didn't want him to agree to be in a relationship with her if she couldn't uphold her side of the deal in terms of intimacy.

Untangling herself from him and instantly missing his warmth, Rangiku sat up straight against the wall. She didn't let go of his hand, but she needed the breathing space to get out her next words and she wanted to be able to look into his eyes properly without craning her neck while she spoke.

Taking a deep breath, Rangiku stared down at their still linked hands.

"I know that you wouldn't… f-force, or pressure me in any way," Rangiku began, filling the panic rising a little again although it was more under control now, "But I don't think I'm quite ready to have… to have, um, sex."

She swallowed on that last word and her voice went unnaturally high in pitch. Gods why was talking about sex so awkward?

"I just… I just don't know when I'll be ready," Rangiku shrugged, "It might be soon but it might not be and I can't know for sure when, but um, I wanted to let you know that before, before you agreed to anything?"

'Agreed' probably wasn't the right word; it was a relationship not a business deal, but she figured he was a CEO and the terminology was probably more familiar, especially since he had admitted to never having had a girlfriend before. She breathed and looked up at him, wanting to see his expression as he processed her words.

"Don't worry about that," Toshiro told her, "I didn't realise tonight that you thought that may have been my intention. I don't think I'm ready for an intimate relationship. I'm happy to wait, for as long as you'd like. I can't imagine being intimate with a partner unless we were well and truly ready. I just like kissing you."

A huge weight fell of Rangiku's shoulders. It wasn't until they had verbally discussed it was she no longer worried about it. It was such a relief to get her concerns out there and to realise that the thought hadn't even been on his radar. It even made her feel better to know he wasn't ready either and she made a mental note to remember that; even if she got over her own fears and was ready to get intimate again, there was a chance Toshiro still might not be ready, which was perfectly fine. The first time was an important one, and Rangiku would make it magical for them both when the time was right.

It was definitely the tequila that made her chuckle as he admitted to liking kissing her, but gods could she relate. The panic had since subsided and now that she knew there was definitely no chance of him asking for sex tonight, she wanted him to kiss her.

"Maybe we could just start with another date and take it from there?" Toshiro suggest eventually, much the same as he had when he had suggested they meet at the wedding over the phone.

"Another date would be nice," Rangiku murmured before leaning over and pressing their lips together, her hand sliding into his hair.

Hopefully this time they wouldn't be interrupted…

And they weren't. Toshiro gasped a little, opening his mouth into the kiss so that she could taste his sweet breath. He even kissed her back, moving his lips gently against her. She was still leading of course, and she was very glad for that given her current state. Eventually she pulled herself away before either of them would want to heat things up.

"Gods," he gasped, "I'll never get tired of that."

Rangiku chuckled as she leaned back against the wall, her own breath caught. She couldn't work out why kissing him was so different to any other man she had kissed before. If anything, he should be worse from the obvious lack of experience but he wasn't, far from it in fact as she definitely ranked that kiss as her favourite of all time. Perhaps it was because finally she felt like she had genuine, strong feelings for the person she was kissing or maybe it was just because he was so gorgeous? Whatever the case, Rangiku wasn't about to argue it.

Slowly, Rangiku picked herself of the ground, with a rather ungraceful groan. She had to steady herself against the wall for a few seconds as her tequila-addled brain worked to un-dizzy the room. She eyed the pyjamas on the bed and knew instantly they were too big to be Toshiro's size. That must have been what he was telling her when her panic attack had taken over. She smirked at them; he had pre-planned that she would stay with him, and yet sex had never been in the forefront of his mind – what a surprising man he was.

Picking up the sleepwear, Rangiku winked at him over her shoulder before disappearing into the bathroom to change. Hotel pyjamas – Rangiku had never felt so posh. The bottoms fit nicely and the top was a touch big now that she'd had the reduction but that was perfect, she loved baggy pyjamas. She was not surprised to find a spare toothbrush awaiting her; Rangiku quickly brushed her teeth and did her best to remove her light makeup without her usual remover. She returned back to the bedroom and removed her glasses, placing them gently on the closest nightstand.

"Well I have successfully gotten drunk and danced in front of you on the first date," Rangiku cringed, "Not to mention that stunning panic attack."

Really, she was a catch – no wonder why Toshiro was so in to her.

"That's probably enough embarrassment for one night," she continued with a sigh, "We should probably get to bed before I can tell you all about my sock collection."

And boy did she have a sock collection.

"Take it from someone who suffers regular anxiety attacks, you should never feel embarrassed about having an attack in front of me," Toshiro told her, voice firm, "And tomorrow, I expect to hear all about this sock collection of yours."

Rangiku raised an eyebrow as she looked down and saw Toshiro making himself comfortable on the floor. Of course he had been completely serious about sleeping on the ground and while she did feel terrible for kicking him out of his bed, he did look kind of comfortable, although maybe that was because she took her glasses off and now his face was a blur. Still, as much as she wanted to insist he shared the bed with her, she wasn't positive that either of them were ready. At least it was warm in the room, so he wouldn't be cold down there.

"If you get uncomfortable down there, I won't mind if you want to sleep up here," Rangiku murmured as she climbed onto the bed and slipped under the covers, keeping to one side in case he did want to come in.

The bed was very comfortable and clean, and Rangiku knew she would be asleep in seconds. There was even a bottle of water on each nightstand which was going to be essential in the morning – she didn't even want to consider how bad that hangover was going to be. Conveniently, there was a switch behind her head which turned off the overhead lights and so she flicked it, plunging the room into darkness.

"Goodnight, Toshiro," she yawned, rolling over and closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Rangiku," Toshiro murmured back.

…

Rangiku woke suddenly, bolting upright in bed with a yelp and clutching her chest as she gasped for air. Her whole body trembled and her cheeks were wet from tears. She knew instantly this wasn't her normal bed and her panic spiked immediately. It took a few seconds for her memory to kick in to remind her she was in a hotel room after Ichigo's wedding, she was probably still a little drunk and her date was asleep on the floor. A touch of relief hit her but not enough to recover from the nightmare.

She laid back, covering her mouth with her hand in attempt to stifle the unstoppable sob that racked her body. Every. God. Damn. Night.

Bastard. She couldn't go on dates with a beautiful man without Gin infiltrating her mind and causing a scene, and she certainly couldn't sleep without him appearing in her dreams. It was incredibly frustrating that this was still happening even a year later. Of course she had better control of it now; she no longer felt like vomiting and she usually was able to get back to sleep afterwards. She even managed to hold the tears on most occasions, but obviously tonight, with the alcohol and the disorientation of being in an unfamiliar bedroom, her defences had been less effective.

"Rangiku," Toshiro's voice broke through the silence, his weight settling on the edge of the bed beside her, "Are you alright? Was it a bad dream? It's okay you're here with me."

His thumb carefully wiped a tear off her cheek. Her sigh was deep and shaky as she caught his hand and hers and pushed herself back up into a sitting position. Without much light or her glasses she couldn't see much of him, just a very blurry silhouette but it was the most comforting silhouette she'd ever seen. She shuffled closer and leaned into him until her head found his shoulder. For the first time, she hadn't woken up alone after a nightmare and all she wanted was to be near his warmth.

"Just a small one," Rangiku answered thickly, reaching blindly across to the nightstand until she found that bottle of water, "I'm really sorry I woke you."

First she'd kicked him out of his bed and now she'd woken him up at whatever ungodly hour it was. At this rate she wouldn't be invited back.

The water was like liquid gold in her dry mouth and sipping on it gave her time to control her breathing again. It was so nice to be held and to feel gentle fingers brushing her hair off her face.

"Remember I'm here for you if you ever need anything," Toshiro told her and Rangiku could hear the sincerity in his voice, "You don't need to hide a panic attack or a bad dream from me. Try and go back to sleep, I'll be right over there if you need me."

Toshiro began to pull away but Rangiku quickly put her arms around his torso and pulled him back towards her – she needed him now.

"Stay with me?" Rangiku asked, squeezing her arms, "Please? I d-don't want to be alone."

Of course, he would only be on the floor but Rangiku had now had taste of what it was like to have a warm, caring body beside her and in her drunken and shaken state, she was desperate to hold on to it, which she was literally doing in that moment, her arms like twin pythons around Toshiro's slender frame.

"Of course," Toshiro answered, "I won't leave you, not for as long as you need me."

Her wish was granted, but for some reason Toshiro chose to settle himself on the edge of the bed instead of the whole other side of the bed. He was probably just letting her have the escape space if she needed it; Rangiku rolled her eyes – she wasn't going to need it, in fact if anyone was going to need it, it would be him.

She shifted over a bit and pulled him with her until she was sure he wasn't going to fall off the bed in the middle of the night, but not so far that she'd end up on the cold, untouched side of the bed.

"Thank you," she mumbled, lowering her head onto his chest, and throwing an arm across his body.

Rangiku knew he hadn't had much practise at cuddling before but she was prepared to show him, she just hoped he was comfortable because knowing him, he'd probably put up with discomfort if he thought it would make her happy. She was happy though, very happy. He was so warm, and she could hear his slightly faster heart beat inside his chest. Rangiku hummed contently, cuddling into him and murmuring another quiet goodnight. She was going to have no problem getting back to sleep.

…

 **Thanks for reading! Remember to go read Toshiro's perspective for this chapter at LethanWolf's page! xx**


	7. I Love You

**Gin fans be warned! I'm sorry, and I promise Lethan and I will make him a better guy in our next fic ;)**

…

Rangiku shrugged on her blazer as she stepped out of the Zeltrix office and headed towards the restaurant where she would meet Toshiro. It was actually a rather warm evening considering the season; the sun had been out all day and made an office-tethered Rangiku jealous, especially as Orihime was currently holidaying in Bora Bora with her new boyfriend and was sending countless pictures of the two of them on the beach. With Ichigo still on his honeymoon, the Zeltrix marketing lead had been bound to her desk all day; Christmas was just around the corner and her whole team were busting to execute the most imaginative, fun and humorous campaign in the whole international gaming industry. Yoruichi and the sales team had set a challenging goal of selling double what they had sold last year and so far the results had been promising, but Rangiku was still nervous they might not make them. She didn't want to disappoint the company, or Toshiro, if her campaign crumbled and the sales mark fell short.

No, Rangiku shook her head as she continued down the street, that was just her overworked brain talking. No more work talk, she scolded herself; tonight she was finally getting to have a proper date with her… boyfriend? Well she wasn't sure if she could label him that yet since this was their first dinner date. It had been over two weeks since the Abarai wedding and they had struggled to find time to meet up with their busy schedules; Rangiku was under the pump at work and Toshiro was in the process of moving his operations to a small office so they had only managed short lunches, the odd Starbucks rendezvous and one cute weekend visit to Toshiro's teenage hangout, an old arcade. That had actually been a very fun afternoon; of course, Toshiro was better than her at every game (even when he pretended not to be), but Rangiku had been surprisingly good at the claw crane machine, winning them lots of little chocolate bars – which had then made the photo booth kisses extra sweet.

Approaching the restaurant, Rangiku had warmed up so much from her walk that she wasn't going to need her blazer for much longer. She spotted Toshiro's startling white hair as she crossed the street and was glad to see he had picked a table outside since it was such a nice evening and there looked to be a number of heaters anyway. She waved enthusiastically when they locked eyes and beamed; just seeming him immediately washed away the stress of her week.

"Hey, Handsome," Rangiku greeted brightly as she reached the table, winking at him and smirking internally knowing her comment would likely make him blush.

"Hello beautiful," Toshiro greeted her in return, his cheeks satisfyingly pink as he stood and pulled her chair out for her, ever the gentlemen, "How was your day?"

"Very busy," Rangiku chuckled, "I can't wait to have Ichigo back on Monday."

She glanced around the restaurant quickly; it was quite fancy and very busy. Rangiku had walked passed it many times on her way to the train station every day but had never dined there before. It appeared to be a combination of western and Japanese themed culture – the best of both worlds. Rangiku would go western though, since she lived in Japan and ate mostly Japanese food, so having some western-style meal options was thoroughly exciting.

"How was yours?" Rangiku asked, turning back to Toshiro, "All the executives were excited to meet you, but they've all agreed to keep it quiet from their teams out of respect."

"It was good," Toshiro told her, sitting back in his chair, "I'm glad they've all said that. I managed to get through a huge chunk of the one to one's today. I still have to meet with my marketing lead though… she was a bit busy today."

He flashed her a bit of a cheeky grin and Rangiku's heart fluttered.

It made her melt; was he flirting with her? Gods, he was in a good mood today. Rangiku was thrilled to see him doing so well after all he had told her about his anxiety and how stressful she assumed the move into the new office would be on him, not to mention finally meeting all of his department leads face to face after years of hiding himself away. When she thought about it, it was hard to believe he'd done most of it for her, and that put a lot of pressure on her to make it a good experience for him. The last thing she wanted was for him to put up with extra stress on his anxiety just to make her happy.

Slowly stripping back her blazer as the heater behind her warmed her back nicely, Rangiku sent him a coy smile.

"I'm sure she could have made time for you," Rangiku drawled, eyeing him across the table, "I've heard she has a bit of a crush on the boss."

Rangiku leaned forward and opened her menu, eyes skimming over the options but not really taking it in since she had already looked up the menu online and made her decision whilst on the train that morning.

"Well that's good," Toshiro stated, voice professional but light-hearted, "People might talk."

The waiter came over, bowing courteously, and began pouring their table water for them.

"Ready to order?" he asked her when Toshiro gestured her way.

Ordering a meal on a date was a real task involving lots of factors and social maths, hence why she had already chosen this morning. When eating on a date, one had to be neat and therefore not order anything that could potentially be messy, which immediately ruled any food eaten with hands, such as burgers or ribs, and most pastas due to the slurp factor. She also mentally crossed out anything that had a lot of garlic or onion as not to get gross breath later, as well as anything that was in the top twenty percent of most expensive choices as she knew he would likely insist on paying again. Furthermore, she had to account for the western cutlery factor – she was experienced with a knife and fork but didn't want to risk getting caught struggling to cut an over-cooked steak or something, and thus would chose something that wouldn't involve a lot of work to eat. This rule was extended to certain shelled sea foods, such as crab or mussels.

And this was why most girls just chose a salad. Rangiku would have, except she knew she'd be skipping lunch in favour of working and a garden salad simply wasn't going to cut it that evening.

"The risotto, please," Rangiku answered, folding her menu and handing it to the waiter before turning back to her date.

Toshiro ordered the gyozas from the Japanese side of the menu, probably since he was the opposite to Rangiku; he spent most of his time travelling and dining out in the western world that he probably was excited to eat authentic Japanese food again.

"So you do believe in ghosts?" Toshiro asked, out of the blue.

"Oh yes," Rangiku grinned, straightening, "I probably watch too much T.V. but I like to believe in things like that, I like to think there's more after life than just nothingness. Also I'm convinced there are ghosts in my building… or a poltergeist."

There were several occasions where Rangiku had definitely gone to sleep with her hair out and woken up with it in a ponytail. Now maybe she woke up in the middle of the night and did it, too tired to remember in the morning, or perhaps she sleep hair-styled but all she knew was that on those morning she had woke up with her hair tied up, those ponytails were flawless. Like not even the slightest shark fin kink stuck out, not a single strand of hair was missed, her hair tie looped around three times to neat perfection. Rangiku knew for a fact her own ponytails looked nothing of the sort. Explanation – ghosts and/or poltergeists, obviously.

"Potentially both," Rangiku tilted her head thoughtfully, "I woke up from a nightmare once and I swear I heard some old ladies playing bridge in my living room… They were mean, and I think one was called Mavis."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Rangiku picked up her water glass and took a sip. She wasn't drinking tonight or ever again, still hungover from Ichigo's wedding.

"Do you think that's weird?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her date.

Toshiro was doing his best not to laugh at her silly story as the waiter dropped the meals off but somehow he pulled through – not that Rangiku would have minded if he had laughed. She found her ghost situation funny, Ichigo had really found it funny saying only she could come up with something like that, to which she had argued she wasn't making it up, which only caused him to laugh harder.

Toshiro mentioned bringing Mavis a tea cosy as a gift next time he was over which caused Rangiku to giggle into her food, glad he was taking her story light-heartedly.

"I don't think it's weird," he told her, "I like to believe there's more to like after we leave here as well. I had one ghostly experience with my grandmother and it helped me to let go."

Rangiku raised an interested eyebrow; she loved hearing about his grandmother and how much he adored her.

"She came to me one night in a half dream but I could have sworn it was real," he explained, "She told me not to follow my heart until my head was sorted out. I never really knew what that meant before, but I guess now it makes a lot more sense. She only said that to me, nothing else, then she was gone."

Rangiku's eyes softened and she reached across the table to take his free hand in hers. His spiritual experience was so wholesome and lovely, compared to the mean old ladies playing card games around her coffee table and messing with her hair in her sleep. It must have been a real moment for him to have been visited by her; she couldn't imagine her own grandmother visiting her like that. Well, unless she was one of Mavis' friends.

"I wish I could have met her," Rangiku murmured, "I would have loved to have seen where your impeccable politeness comes from."

She imagined a young Toshiro being scolded by his grandmother every time he did something unbecoming of a well behaved young gentleman and was highly amused. He spoke so highly of her and that spoke volumes to his character. He was obviously a huge grandma's-boy and it was utterly adorable.

"I think she would have loved you," Toshiro told her softly, blushing a little, "After the initial shock of course. You're so beautiful she'd probably have thought I'd borrowed you off the street to appease her so she could die peacefully."

Rangiku grinned; Toshiro's gran sounded like she'd had a good sense of humour and a touch of brutality about it. It was easier to understand Toshiro and Yukio's dark banter now that it was obvious where he had gotten it from.

Taking back her hand, Rangiku pushed her dish away from her, cutlery together as was customary to show she was finished and leaned back with her water, decidedly full.

"We would have been best friends," Rangiku laughed, "Old ladies love me; I love knitting and-"

A flash of silver behind Toshiro caught her eye and suddenly her words died in her throat. In fact she felt like she had died and now she was the ghost. Her whole body froze, she could actually feel the blood draining from her face and the coldness engulfing her entire being as the familiar sense of fear, dread and shame washed over her.

Gin.

The silver haired snake was walking down the street coming towards the restaurant, coming towards her. He hadn't seen her yet and her brain was screaming for her to duck her head or make a break for it but her limbs didn't seem to be getting the message, firmly locking themselves in position. Time seemed to slow right now as he continued on his path but when his eyes suddenly found hers, it sped up dramatically. His eye lids opened fully and she saw the dark red irises of her nightmares, the Game Station CEO pausing mid step in surprise. The man's shock was short lived as his eyes darkened and his grin grew impossibly wide, immediately adjusting direction, heading right for her table, sick intent displayed on his face.

Whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be pretty, but Rangiku wasn't going to let Toshiro get dragged into her mess again.

"Y-you need to go," she stated firmly, her voice unfamiliar to her own ears, "Quickly, Toshiro. Gin's here and he's coming over. If he recognises you as the waiter in New York he could work out who you are and expose you."

Rangiku tore her eyes away from the approaching destruction and towards her date.

"Please go," Rangiku begged, already knowing he was going to argue with her, "I'll be fine, he won't try anything here."

It was a crowded restaurant, Rangiku told herself, she'd be fine. He wasn't going to hurt her in public.

"You were in public before and that didn't stop him," Toshiro reminded her of the incident at the conference when Gin tried to grab her ass in the middle of a crowded room, "From now on whatever happens we face it together."

Toshiro was up out of his seat and at her side instantly, refusing to leave her. Her brain had time to register his bravery and the hand rubbing her back but not enough time to argue back before Gin was towering over both of them.

"What's this, Ran-chan?" Gin hissed, red eyes flickering down to Toshiro who stood between them, expression livid, "Don't tell me you're on a date now? I thought I made it clear who ya belonged to."

Voice caught in her throat, Rangiku tried to speak up but couldn't. She wanted to scream at him and tell him she didn't belong to anyone, least of all him, but her body was still frozen in fear, especially when he stepped out to get a better look at her.

"Oh look, she's gone and cut off her tits," Gin mocked, laughing without humour, "That was ya best feature, Ran-chan. Didya really think that would make ya look like less of a _slut_?"

His last word echoed throughout her mind, causing her to flinch back instinctively. The restaurant had gone completely silent and Rangiku could feel the eyes burning into her back. She deflated quickly and tried to cover her chest subtly by crossing her arms. She wanted to hide, but she couldn't. She was in the middle of packed restaurant, everyone looking at her to evaluate just how much of a whore she looked like.

"Fuck off Ichimaru," Toshiro spoke up, surprising Rangiku with his bold language when she hadn't heard him ever swear before, "Leave us be."

Gin's attention turned to the smaller man and Rangiku tugged on the back of Toshiro's shirt pulling him closer to her. The Game Station owner was exactly the type to turn his anger physical and while Toshiro had once mentioned knowing some martial arts, Rangiku didn't want to see who would win in a fight between them.

"And who the fuck do ya think ya are, midget?" Gin snapped, eyes narrowing and Rangiku could tell he was trying to figure out why Toshiro looked and sounded so familiar to him.

 _Lie_ , _Toshiro,_ Rangiku begged mentally, _don't throw away your secret identity for this._

"Your biggest rival," Toshiro growled, completely ignoring her telepathic pleas, "In every sense of the word."

Staring at the CEO in shock, Rangiku couldn't believe how close he was coming to revealing his identity. It terrified her; of course she had wanted him to stop hiding away and embrace who he was but she wanted him to do it on his own terms and at a pace he was comfortable with. With that information alone, Gin could very well work it out and use it against them later. Rangiku wouldn't be able to live with herself if he got hurt by her mess.

Gin seemed to only interpret Toshiro's words one way in that moment, scoffing loudly.

"Alright ya short shit," Gin chuckled, "What are ya gonna do with her? Climb her like a tree?"

"Gin, please," Rangiku finally spoke, begging the evil man to stand down. She didn't want Toshiro to be reminded and embarrassed by their height differences, knowing it was an anxiety trigger for him.

"Bitch, I'm talkin'," the silver haired snake spat at her and for a second there Rangiku thought he was going to hit her too, flinching away, but he didn't, turning back to Toshiro, "Don't make me laugh, Kid, Ran-chan might be a dumb blonde but even she knows who can really satisfy her."

The wink he sent her made her recoil with repulsion. When had he become such a monster?

"Ya aint my rival," Gin laughed again, "Nobody is."

"This amazing blonde is now responsible for Zeltrix's sales doubling in the last few months," Toshiro bit back, "It's been a delight watching your company fall as game after game swaps onto our platform. Perhaps instead of harassing and sexually assaulting members of the public you'd be best placing your time back into your own development, both as a person and as a CEO."

Rangiku's eyes closed as a long deep sigh released from her chest. That would do it; Gin's thoughts would be ticking over and he'd be working it out. Her arms wound around Toshiro's tense body and pulled him firmly against her front, lowering her head to bury her face in his thick white hair as they waited for their doom.

It was now categorically clear that Toshiro worked for Zeltrix and that he was high enough up to know the sales statistics. Gin was a monster and often let his anger cloud his judgement but he wasn't stupid. He would be connecting the dots very quickly.

"The conference… the waiter," Gin muttered as he slowly worked things out, causing Rangiku's heart to drop, "You were there- you…"

"I'm sorry," Rangiku whispered to Toshiro, clenching her eyes shut tighter before tears could escape, "I'm so so sorry, Toshiro."

"You're the Zeltrix CEO," Gin uttered disbelievingly as Rangiku's grip tightened, "Hyorinmaru."

The silence was thick and Rangiku knew everyone had heard. It would get out to the media eventually, if Gin didn't leak it himself, and Toshiro's secret life would be over.

"That's right," Toshiro hissed, "I am Hyorinmaru and the waiter who threw champagne all over you for your disgusting sexual advances on a woman. How about you do yourself a favour and don't damage your company's reputation anymore by turning around and walking away?"

Rangiku couldn't breathe at Toshiro's admission but when Gin suddenly burst out laughing for real this time, she looked up in shock to see the man doubling over in a fit of giggles.

"Ya Hyorinmaru?" Gin wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes, "You? Ya like, what? Thirteen? Ya even had your first erection yet?"

Feeling a flare of anger sweep through her, Rangiku straightened to glare at the man. Toshiro had protected her but he was unlikely to defend himself. Well guess what? Rangiku had found a reason to be brave and now it was her turn to protect him after all he'd done for her and because well, she loved him. No one was going to make him feel shit in front of her.

"That's enough, Gin," she said firmly, feeling strong for the first time in her life as she let go of Toshiro and stepped out from behind him, "Go home. Walk away and we'll forget this."

Gin's laughs died as he turned back to her, a challenging eyebrow raised.

"Ya gonna defend him, Ran-chan? After all I've done for ya?" Gin asked, voice rising as he pointed an accusing finger at her.

The man's expression was twisting into something sick and sinister and even Rangiku had never seen that expression on his face. This was not the man who had once been her boss. This was certainly not the man who had been her boyfriend. What had happened to him? When they had gotten together he was a mildly sexist player with some tricky trust issues but he hadn't been a monster. He had been actually been rather charming and very funny, but somewhere along the line, something had changed him.

Rangiku had known him for years now and knew he'd had a rough childhood with abusive parents, and knew that the stress of running a large company had knocked him around a few times but the man in front of her was unrecognisable. He looked ill.

"You were my woman," Gin hissed, enunciating his words with thick venom, accent going in and out, "I proved that to ya when I fucked you across my desk."

Tilting her head, Rangiku exhaled slowly. If he was ill that was terrible, but it didn't excuse his actions that night in his office, or this night right now.

"That wasn't consensual and you knew that," Rangiku spoke coolly, ignoring the growing amount of spectators, "I begged you to stop."

There were a few murmurs in the audience and somewhere further back, a horrified gasp.

"You were asking for it," the snake snarled, "How dare you-"

"I told you no," Rangiku interrupted quickly, "I did not ask for it."

There was a beat of silence as Gin stepped back, shocked as he processed her words and they fact she was standing up to him. Rangiku's body was running on a mixture of fear, protectiveness and adrenalin but she stayed still, feeling like a teacher who had just scolded a young student. He looked at her as if he didn't even know her, like he didn't know what he had done. She frowned and watched him carefully, aware that he could lash out at any moment.

Rangiku was about to speak again when a timid voice broke in from behind her.

"I h-have to ask you to l-leave, S-sir," the restaurant manager took a shaky step forward as he clutched his phone and looked at Gin through terrified eyes, "You have d-disrupted our customers d-dining experience. L-leave or I will have to call the p-police."

Gin looked around confused, as if he was only noticing where he was now. Rangiku frowned deeper; the man was definitely not well. She couldn't tell if it was purely a mental illness or if he'd turned to drugs somewhere along the line but whatever it was, it was turning him into a monster he was never supposed to be.

She hated it, but she felt pity for him.

"Go, Gin," Rangiku spoke softer this time, taking a small step towards him, "Go home and get some help. This isn't you."

Gin turned back to her and finally a flash of something familiar in his eyes; love. Regardless of everything that had happened, Rangiku had always known he loved her. She had never been able to say it back to him, and maybe that's what had been the catalyst for his desperate and vile act and the downward spiral that followed.

Well maybe love was the wrong word. Rangiku loved Toshiro, and knew that if that was what Gin had truly felt for her, then he would never have tried to hurt her the way he did. It was more like… obsession? Whatever it was, Gin had confused it with love, and it had driven him to madness and violence.

The silver haired man backed away from the restaurant slowly, his eyes different now; full of sadness and guilt. They said 'I'm sorry'. Rangiku couldn't accept that as an apology but it was a start; it meant he knew he had done the wrong thing now. She nodded back in a way that said, 'I know', before the man turned and sprinted into the dark.

Rangiku stared into the darkness that Gin disappeared into as the restaurant slowly turned back to normal behind her, feeling too many emotions to count. It felt largely like she had gotten closure and yet she didn't think this was entirely behind her yet. In the morning she would contact Izuru, the only half decent one left back at Game Station and Gin's very assistant – if anyone was going to help Gin sort himself out, it would be him, but that would be as far as Rangiku went. After that, she would put it all behind her and hopefully never have any contact with her ex again. It would be better for both of them.

"Rangiku, I am so sorry," Toshiro's soft voice sounded behind her, "Let me take you back to mine and out of the public."

Rangiku turned and noticed for the first time that people were filming the incident. Annoyed and embarrassed, Rangiku managed to pretend she still couldn't see it, instead locking eyes with Toshiro – the man who had stood up for her and protected her not just tonight but in New York and at the wedding, and every single night she called him after a nightmare.

Accepting the offer with a nod, knowing there was nowhere else she would rather spend the rest of the evening, Rangiku stepped forward, took his hand and walked right out of the restaurant. Toshiro had likely already covered the bill but if he hadn't she'd call them in the morning and pay over the phone or something, but she was not spending a minute longer surrounded by all those inquisitive eyes and their smart phone cameras.

Rangiku had no idea if Toshiro had parked his car somewhere or if they were going to walk or catch public transport back to his house, she didn't even know where he lived but she headed in the direction of her own home, waiting for him to correct her direction.

"Do you mind if we swing by mine quickly?" Rangiku asked, "I need to feed the cat."

 _And get pyjamas, hopefully_ , but she didn't want to assume he was inviting her to stay the night.

"Yukio is leaving at 2am for a convention in Kyoto and I don't really want to be alone…" Toshiro rambled quickly as his shorter legs struggled to keep up with her long ones, "Of course I'd understand if you did want to be alone but I have a feeling all of this is going to blow up over the next few days and the thought of facing it alone…"

Rangiku stilled as she heard the anxiousness in Toshiro's voice. She had almost forgotten after how brave he was only minutes ago but of course that had been only to defend her since his deeply seeded protectiveness always trumped over his anxiety, but now that she was out of danger and he no longer need to protect her, the gut-twisting anxiety had returned.

"I have a guest room, if you'd stay with me tonight and maybe the next?" Toshiro continued quickly, "You can bring Haineko with you? She can stay too."

Turning suddenly, Rangiku grabbed the man by shirt collar and pressed her lips to his. She didn't linger for too long in case the shock of the unexpectedness of the kiss freaked him out, but opened her lips just that little bit to show him that she didn't want to be alone either.

Pulling back, Rangiku reclaimed his hand.

"Thank you for what you did tonight," she said softly, cupping his cheek, "You have no idea what it means to me having you in my life right now."

It was the closest thing she could say without saying 'I love you' right in the middle of the busy Tokyo street.

"Haineko and I would love to stay with you," Rangiku murmured, "For as long as you want us. I'm happy to take the spare room if you'd prefer, but if you're up for it, I'd really love to share your room with you."

She thought about what he said about everything potentially blowing up on them over the next few days and cringed. Would people really post their videos online? Well, hopefully her parents wouldn't see it before she had a chance to tell them the truth.

"As for everything else," Rangiku gestured vaguely in the direction of the restaurant, "What was it you said again? 'From now on whatever happens we face it together'."

"You're welcome to share my room," Toshiro murmured, his hand covering hers as she cupped his cheek, "Anytime, for as long as you want."

He probably didn't know quite what he was getting himself into with that comment; Rangiku could and would make herself entirely comfortable staying with him and probably never leave if he didn't ask her too.

"You're amazing," he continued with a breath, causing Rangiku to smile softly knowing he meant his words, "Let's go and get the little one shall we?"

He jerked his head in the direction of a street they'd already passed and Rangiku nodded back, following him. She was on the lookout for his black Mercedes but when the lights flashed on a very sleek white Ferrari and Toshiro stopped in front of it, Rangiku almost tripped over. 'Holy shit' wasn't going to cover it this time. She could only laugh and shake her head disbelievingly; how many cars did this man own?

It felt as fast as it looked and was incredibly smooth on the road as they drove towards her apartment. Everything was so luxurious; she was somewhat worried about it getting stolen while they were in her apartment so she resolved to be quick getting hers and Haineko's things together.

Entering the apartment, Rangiku quickly fed the very hungry and complaining little kitten before moving to her bedroom and throwing clothes into a bag. It was the weekend now so she wouldn't need any work clothes which was handy, so she just grabbed her usual sleep/lounge wear, some casual clothes and something a touch nicer if they happened to go out somewhere. She threw in her toiletries as well as some packets of cat food to get them through a few days and any other necessities for the kitten. Rangiku knew there was limited space in the car so she wanted to pack light, limiting herself to one small duffle bag and the cat carrier. After a short minute standing over Haineko's bed, Rangiku decided not to bring it since it was rather large, instead throwing in one of the smaller blankets off her bed into the carrier that the kitten could sleep on; at the end of the day, Haineko would sleep anywhere that was warm and if Toshiro could afford two flashy cars then he probably had heating in his apartment, so the cat would be fine.

Crouching down beside the kitten with the carrier, Rangiku scratched behind Haineko's ears and opened the carrier's gate.

"Come on, sweetheart," Rangiku cooed, "We're going on a holiday to Toshi's."

The cat sniffed around the carrier curiously but Rangiku's scent on the blanket was convincing enough for Haineko to step in on her own. Closing the carrier gate, Rangiku gently picked it up and swung her bag over her shoulder and turned to face Toshiro.

"We're ready," she smiled, "Let's go see this penthouse of yours."

The drive to his apartment was as quick as the journey to hers, but his building looked far fancier on the outside and it was right in the heart of the city.

They pulled into the underground garage and Toshiro was out of the car and at her side in an instant, holding the door open for her.

Rangiku stepped out of the car, jaw dropped, as she stared at the line of cars and – was that an ice cream truck?

"I didn't have a lot else to spend money on," Toshiro told her, a small embarrassed smile on his face as he gestured vaguely to the line of vehicles, "That and the ridiculous penthouse is all I've spent my money on."

Rangiku raised an eyebrow – when he said the 'ridiculous penthouse', did he mean super luxurious?

Toshiro was already picking her bag out of the car and leading her towards an elevator. Haineko was making little scared sounds so Rangiku stuck her finger in the carrier door and soon felt the little kitten's rough tongue licking her as the kitten began to calm down.

The front door to his penthouse had his name written across it in gold and Rangiku's breath was caught when the door was unlocked revealing the beautiful apartment inside. Open plan, lots of space, very modern furniture, and wide windows that were sure to let a lot of light in when the sun was up.

"Wow," Rangiku whistled looking around, "Just…. Wow."

Her old beautiful apartment paled in comparison to this one and suddenly she felt totally inadequate to be there. She was not fancy enough to look like she belonged here! Rangiku had read the annual reports for Zeltrix and knew roughly how much their CEO made a year but the number was inconceivable to her as she had never seen so much money in her life. Gently putting down the carrier, Rangiku wandered over to the large floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the city lights. It was truly breathtaking; Toshiro could probably see the whole city from here.

A loud meow brought her attention back and Rangiku returned to the carrier, releasing the kitten and scooping Haineko up into her hands, petting her apologetically.

"So do I get a grand tour?" Rangiku chuckled, turning back to Toshiro, "This place is incredible."

"Of course," Toshiro said as he took off his jacket and let her to the first room.

It was a collector room, as he told her – full of valuable collector items and props from movies, mostly the marvel franchise that she just loved and couldn't wait to investigate properly. She also noted the stack of weights in the corner and smiled at the image of him working out in there.

The next was the library – "just a small one" as he described it but Rangiku was in love with one glance. A library in his house? How incredible! Rangiku had a book shelf at her place, but one of the shelves was broken so she just had her books stacked at the base of it now.

Toshiro continued on with the tour, taking her to the main bathroom that had a spa bath so large they could have a party in there if they really wanted.

They passed Yukio's room where the blond was sleeping before his flight and then to the guest room, which was beautiful.

Each room was insanely cool or super beautiful, or in the case of the library, both. Rangiku's eyes were stretched impossibly wide during the penthouse tour that her eye lids actually began to hurt. Toshiro's place was just so incredible, it was hard believe that she was stepping foot in such a place, let alone getting a tour from its owner and her kinda-sorta-boyfriend. In the morning, she would definitely be coming back to check out the library and the collectables room but for now, her attention was brought to the bedroom.

Like the rest of the apartment, Toshiro's bedroom was modern, spacious and with giant windows that looked across the whole city. He spoke about the technology of the windows and bathrooms and it was phenomenal. Haineko purred happily in her arms as Rangiku moved around the room, exploring it a little. It was a very beautiful room, but the more Rangiku looked around, the more it felt like it was missing something. Everything was so pristinely cleaned and it was painfully obvious that Toshiro was never usually home due to all his travels. Other than the desks covered in various tools and electrical bits and pieces, nothing in the room screamed his name.

The main living area had been more homely as she could imagine all Toshiro's friends hanging out there on the giant couch, and then the collectables room and the library she had felt more of Toshiro's personality coming through – the well-read geek, kind of like her. His bedroom though… it seemed no different to the guest room except in size and flashiness, and it just kind of felt like another (albeit very fancy) hotel room – just another place he stayed when he was in town. It didn't feel like his bedroom, just a bedroom. It lacked life? No… it lacked him.

The only part of the room that told her that this was in fact Toshiro Hitsugaya's room was the mess on the desks. Rangiku's eyes softened as she stood over the desks and marvelled at his work. She had no idea what he was trying to build or even if he was trying to build something, but it provoked the image of the little nerdy guy she'd fallen for. It reminded her of when they had first met (in person) and he had tools hanging out of his mouth and tucked behind his ear. Gently readjusting the now sleeping kitten to a one-armed hold, Rangiku used her free hand to ghost over the miscellaneous tech objects. She didn't want to actually touch anything just in case she ended up breaking something but she wanted to feel… his energy?

"This is my favourite part of your room," Rangiku murmured over her shoulder, "It's just so you."

"Yeah I guess it is a bit bare," Toshiro looked around the room with his hand on his chin thoughtfully, "I spend more time in the jet than I do here so I guess that has a bit more personality about it."

Remembering the jet, Rangiku could tell it was definitely where he spent more of his time. The photo board should have been the biggest indicator of that.

"I guess I should probably change that given I'll be spending more time here now," Toshiro's lips twitched into a small smile but it fell away just as quick, "Mind you, depending on how all that news goes down, maybe we will both want to just jet away from Tokyo."

Rangiku groaned softly; she didn't even want to know what was going to happen if those videos went up online. Toshiro exposed, her dark secret spread all over the world and god knows the backlash Gin was going to face.

"That's tomorrow's problem," Rangiku sighed; everyone she should have told were probably asleep now as it was getting late and she wasn't going to call them up in the middle of the night just to tell them she was raped over a year ago. Besides, she was still holding out hope that those people weren't going to upload them to social media, as naïve a thought as it was.

"Let's just go to bed and sort it out in the morning?" she suggested hopefully, although her case could wait, she wasn't sure if Toshiro wanted to make preparations with Rukia because he being the Zeltrix CEO was certainly going to cause a media frenzy.

"Where do you want me to set up Haineko for the night?" she asked, holding the ball of fur up, "I was thinking the living room but I didn't want to freak Yukio out at 2am when he suddenly finds a cat in his home."

"Yeah," Toshiro sighed, glancing at the kitten in her arms, "I'd like to make sure the entire living space is safe first in case she gets stuck behind the cooker or something."

Rangiku frowned at the little kitten; yes, that was entirely something that could happen given how much Haineko liked to explore.

"Maybe the guest room is safer just now?" Toshiro suggested after a moment, "It's smaller and more easily controlled, also less chance of Yukio standing on her through the night."

Rangiku grinned, holding the kitten up to her face and booping her gently on the nose.

"That guest room all to yourself?" Rangiku cooed, "You're going to be the most spoiled kitten in Tokyo, Haineko."

The kitten only looked at her with a disgruntled expression having just been disturbed from her sleep, causing Rangiku to giggle a little. Haineko was such a little princess.

"I'll go get her set up," Rangiku told Toshiro walking past the man, but not without stopping to run her fingers through his hair and kiss him on the cheek.

Continuing to the spare room, Rangiku brought in the carrier and set out her blanket inside to make it an appealing bed for the young cat who preferred to sleep inside boxes where she was less likely to be disturbed. The strawberry blonde pulled out some of Haineko's preferred toys and set up a bowl of fresh water. By the time she was done, the kitten was no longer sleepy but entirely energetic, running around, throwing her toy mouse around by the tail. Rangiku backed out of the room slowly and shut the door, hoping the kitty would calm down soon and be comfortable sleeping there overnight.

"She's all settled in," Rangiku announced as she re-entered the young CEO's room.

Standing over his desk, Toshiro turned to her with a smile when she entered the room.

"Thank you so much for today," he said, "I know you did it for your own reasons but I can't help but think that you maybe did it to protect me too, and I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate it. You could have just left me but you didn't."

Rangiku listened to his words with a slight frown; she hated how low he thought of himself that she might actually have left him alone to deal with Gin.

"I would never have left you," Rangiku murmured, "Because I know you would never have left me. And you didn't, even when I told you to."

With a sigh, she wandered past him and sat herself on the edge of the bed; it was time to tell him something she had wanted to tell him for a while now. She was very nervous about it, and she sincerely hoped this wouldn't cause an anxiety attack on his side.

Patting the spot on the bed beside, Rangiku invited him to sit down beside her.

"I just – I don't know, I feel so strongly about you… and I think I'd do almost anything to make you happy or make you smile," Rangiku fidgeted nervously, never having said this to a man before, "I wouldn't have been able to stand up to Gin if you hadn't been with me, because any courage I had in that moment came from you. I… I-I think I'm in love you."

She looked up into his eyes for a split second as he sat beside her before looking away, staring down at her shoes. He wasn't having a bar of it though, hooking a finger under her chin and guiding her to look at him.

"From the moment I heard your voice it was like someone was breathing colour into my life," Toshiro told her firmly, the most confident she'd heard his voice all night, "You've continued to fill it with so much colour since then. I've literally became a better and stronger person since I met you Rangiku because I had to be, because for once I had something I honestly wanted to work hard for. Someone I wanted to work hard for. It's very easy for me to say I love you too because I've felt it for a while now, but it's not enough. Every day I want to return all the colour to your life the same way you've returned colour to mine… except my hair it seems."

Rangiku chuckled, unable to stop herself or the wide grin that followed his deep words.

"I love you and your hair," she whispered, smiling madly.

He had his finger tucked under her chin and it felt so natural just to lean into him and kiss him deeply. They hadn't done a whole lot more than just lingering pecks but this time Rangiku wanted him to really feel her when she kissed him. Parting her lips, Rangiku took control, moving her lips against his. She had one hand on his knee to steady herself and the other wove into his thick snowy locks. Remembering the reaction he had to her hand in his hair at the wedding, Rangiku hoped it would happen again, using the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth and heat things up a little.

Pulling back eventually, feeling warm and a little breathless, Rangiku rested her forehead against Toshiro's. Gods she wanted him; she hadn't thought she be ready so quickly after what happened the night of Ichigo's wedding but now, after what had happened at the restaurant and the way he had protected her and then told her he loved her. Well, Rangiku was very confident in saying she was ready for him. She wanted to feel him too, all of him.

"I'm ready if you are," Rangiku breathed against him, really hoping he'd understand what she was saying.

He did, eventually anyway. Her fingers still twisting through his hair appeared to be interfering with his thought pattern as he took a second to realise exactly what she had meant.

"Wha-oh?" Toshiro pulled back from her, eyes wide. He caught her wrist and pulled it from is hair, kissing her hand gently once again, "Sorry, tha-that's distracting… Are you absolutely sure?"

Rangiku shrugged, looking away; she wanted too, but not if he wasn't ready. She could wait if he needed more time.

"Only if you want to," she told him, voice nonchalant, "I just want you to know that I'm ready, but of course I don't want to rush you. I want you to be ready too."

"Rangiku," his soft voice called, pulling her eyes back to him, "I'm a man, we're always ready."

His face was as red as anything and it made her grin; he was so adorable and he didn't even know it. His comment was humorous and helped some of the tension roll off her shoulders but she also knew just how true that statement could be, and she didn't want to force anything on him or make him feel like he should have sex with her just because she asked. She didn't want to guilt him or pressure him to be ready before he actually was.

"No, I'm serious, Toshiro," Rangiku stared into his large teal irises, "I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with. No one knows how difficult that is more than me."

"I know," Toshiro replied instantly, moving closer to her and raising a hand into her hair, "I would tell you if I wasn't ready. I have concerns though…"

Twisting a little to get a better look at his expression, the blush still at home on his cheeks as he looked decidedly away, focusing entirely on the strand of her hair he was twisting idly.

"What concerns?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Well," he started nervously, "I'm worried I won't last long or be very good or-"

Oh, those concerns. She had a quick mental flashback of her first time and being concerned about not knowing what to do or about whether she would be very good at it, but her boyfriend at the time had also been a virgin so neither of them had any real expectations (thank goodness because it had been a bumbling mess). Toshiro was likely feeling like that now, but it might have been worse for him, as she'd had years of experience in the bedroom.

"Toshiro," she cut in quickly, not wanting him to feel at all insecure, "I don't expect anything from you, I don't expect you to last a certain time or be the best at anything."

She just wanted his first time to be special for him, as it would be for her. It was about enjoying each other.

"Communication is key," she added, her smile twisting into a small smirk as she prepared to use her new favourite quote of his against him again, "If we do this, we do it together."

He smiled back at her – his gorgeous, adorably-crooked smile.

"Alright," he breathed, nodding decisively as his worries appeared to ease a little, "Alright, yes, I want to be close to you."

Rangiku exhaled – okay, cool. They were doing this.

"I have one request," she told him, feeling his eyes settle back on her face, "I want to take off my own clothes, is that okay?"

It was going to have to be because she wasn't willing to negotiate on it right now. Not tonight anyway.

Confusion was evident on his face but he nodded anyway and after a brief beat of hesitation, Rangiku hopped off the bed and stood in front of him, her hands very slowly reaching up to her shirt's top button.

Toshiro seemed to sense her uncertainty, "Rangiku, if you're not comfortable-"

"I am," she answered quickly, "I trust you."

And she did, but she hadn't stood naked in front of anyone in a long time – not at all since her reduction (other than the surgeon, of course). She just wanted to feel in control as she eased herself back into sexual intimacy. Rangiku needed to go at her own pace and settle into it before she could completely give herself over to him. She knew Toshiro wouldn't hurt her in anyway but she didn't want a badly timed flashback of Gin to ruin their night like it had at the wedding. Toshiro was patient, but Rangiku had to be too if she wanted this night done right. As their first time together, she needed it to be done right.

Button after button came undone until the fabric was easily slipped over her shoulders. Despite her top half now being only in her bra, Toshiro's eyes didn't move from her own, his smile causing her lips to match it instinctively. Feeling a touch more confident, Rangiku moved her hands to her trousers, undoing the top button and zip, allowing them to suddenly drop to the floor and pool around her ankles. She stepped out of them and finally, Toshiro's eyes began to wander, taking in her body.

It wasn't weird or intimidating, and she didn't feel self-conscious as the teal orbs swept over her. If anything, she only felt a little bit anxious because well, this was Toshiro. This was the first man she'd ever loved and she didn't want a single thing to go wrong with him right now.

Eventually his eyes came back to her and he extended his arms out for her, welcoming her back to him.

"You're so beautiful, Rangiku," he whispered, "I love you so much."

Rangiku couldn't help the small chuckle that fell from her lips as she smiled broadly. Of course she was worrying about nothing. Toshiro loved her; he spoke about her like she was the sun warming his whole world and she knew what that felt like because that was exactly how she would have described his presence in her life.

Walking over to him, Rangiku climbed into his lap as the tension rolled off her shoulders. She sat, straddling his hips as his warm arms came around her and her head found comfort on his shoulder. It was clear after a minute that he wasn't going to initiate anything more than this so Rangiku pulled herself up and connected their lips.

It was slow and loving, just mouths moving together in harmony. Even as she deepened it, the pace didn't speed up as they took their time with each other. She could feel the love he was pouring into the kiss and then after another moment, his want and arousal in his pants. Rangiku repositioned herself slightly, so that he would be more comfortable as his erection grew.

He broke the kiss, mumbling an embarrassed apology.

Smiling, Rangiku hooked a finger under his chin and drew his face up to hers.

"Toshiro," she grinned as she pressed her forehead to his, "Don't ever be sorry about that. I want to be close to you, I want to feel you."

"Do you trust me?" Toshiro asked.

The question had Rangiku hesitating, but not because she didn't trust him. She did, totally. However, the question just became a sudden smack of realisation of what they were about to do and as much as she wanted it, the thought was still very confronting. It was going to be her first time in over a year since Gin had-

No.

She needed to push that from her mind. This wasn't about Gin. This was about her and Toshiro and their very loving, very consensual moment.

Leaning back, Rangiku answered his question, all though she was a little confused about where he might have been going with it.

"Yes."

"I want to take care of you," Toshiro told her, eyes locked on to hers, "If you'll let me."

Rangiku's eyes softened at his words; his voice alone was enough to sooth her as it had always done, but his wish to take care of her relaxed her further.

She reached behind her back and unclasped her bra before pulling the straps away and letting it drop to the floor. She watched him curiously as he took in the sight of her chest, and she tried not to flinch when he touched her, his finger softly tracing the lines of her reduction surgery scars.

They would grow lighter and more subtle, her doctor ensured her, but as they were still rather recent, they were still dark and obvious, although luckily not painful to touch. Fortunately, most of it was on the underside so only when she completely took off her bra would anyone see it. Toshiro was the first person to ever see them, and hopefully the last.

Lips on her skin shocked Rangiku back from her thoughts and she glanced down to see Toshiro kissing one of her scars gently, causing her to inhale sharply. He was accepting them as a part of her and loving her skin even in spite of the ugly incision lines.

It felt really good too. So good that she felt her hand slip up to the hair line on the back of his neck but she reminded herself to keep it out of her hair, lest she wanted to distract him beyond thought again. (It was a handy trick for the future though).

His lips and hands continued to explore the skin of her breasts, patiently getting to know each and every one of her new scars and Rangiku quickly found herself quite content with this gentle treatment. Although when his thumb ran over her nipple, she found herself instantly gasping, her hands tightening their grips on him. Toshiro repeated the action and Rangiku felt the spark of pleasure shooting through her.

"Th-they're a lot more sensitive than I thought," she thought out loud, remembering her doctor telling her that they could go either way after the surgery – they'd either be super sensitive or completely dulled. Obviously, her nipples had experienced the former.

"If it gets uncomfortable, please tell me," Toshiro said before diving down to take her nipple in his mouth.

Moaning, and certainly not uncomfortable, Rangiku closed her eyes and relished in the feel of his hot mouth sucking and swallowing around her extra sensitive nipples. The feeling went straight to her crotch and she could actually feel her underwear starting to get wet from her arousal.

She wanted him so much and in an effort to get her message across, Rangiku tried to grind her hips down onto his erection, the man immediately stuttering in his actions. She groaned as he pulled his mouth from her breasts but her message seemed to be effective as she then felt him guiding her to laying positon on the bed. Opening her eyes, Rangiku was met with quite the view – a shirtless Toshiro fiddling with his belt buckle.

Gods, did that man have a beautiful chest.

"You've got muscles," she grinned as he threw away his belt.

In truth, she hadn't been expecting it. What she had been expecting was a scrawny, skinny man who would make her feel like she should start dieting to be that skinny, but he wasn't. He was very lean still, kind of like a smaller framed Ichigo, but his muscles were very clear and defined, showing that he obviously worked out. He had also gained more weight than when she had seen him at the gaming convention in New York, but had turned much of it to hard muscle.

Reaching out, Rangiku ran her hands across his chest unabashedly. He wasn't broad by any means, but he had strong, tight pectorals and further down, a subtle-but-not-too-subtle set of abs and then a pretty well defined V muscle heading down below his waist line. Oh yes, she was going to get to know that muscle very well in future.

Around his neck, the glint of a metal chain in the light caught her attention. She captured it quickly, allowing her fingers to run up and down the rivets in each chain link. He hadn't stuck her as the jewellery type, so it must have been a sentimental piece.

"I don't take it off," Toshiro told her, confirming her theory that he was obviously quite attached to it.

"Did your Gran get you it?" she guessed.

"Yes," he answered, "It was the last gift she ever got me."

Rangiku nodded, reaching up to kiss the chain. She really hoped that his Gran would have liked her, and made a silent promise to always look after Toshiro as his grandmother would have wanted.

Laying back down, Rangiku let her thumb trace the blush on his cheeks before following the pink colour down his neck and to his sternum.

"I like the fact your blush goes all the way down to your chest," she mumbled, grin stretching her lips wide, "I like learning about you."

"I like learning about you too," Toshiro murmured, shifting his weight onto one arm so that he could use his free hand to capture her own and kiss it, "Lie back, try and relax and let me know if at any point you feel uncomfortable alright?"

Rangiku nodded, feeling confident about what they were doing and knowing she was safe with him.

Gently, Toshiro kissed her. It was slow and careful but his tongue mingled playfully with hers and his hand found her breast again, massaging it softly. His thumb brushed over her nipple again causing her to gasp into his mouth which appeared to only spur him on.

Eventually, Toshiro's lips began an unhurried and leisurely journey down her neck, exploring every inch of skin. Rangiku was not complaining about his pace – his lips were hot and wet against her skin and each kiss left a lingering tingle behind until she could map the exact journey he was taking. No man had ever taken this much time to get to know her body. Eventually, one spot seemed to feel better than the others and she groaned softly to let him know he'd hit the mark. Toshiro got her message and began to suck on it gently, cause Rangiku's body to arch off the bed and into him. Gods, it felt so good.

Toshiro was not done, however, as Rangiku felt his body slide down hers. His fingers skimmed over the waistline of her underwear but then landed on her thigh. Humming contently as he hitched her leg up and over his hip, Rangiku grinned at how close their bodies were. They were getting serious now and as if reading her mind, his mouth was suddenly on her nipple again. The effect was once again instantaneous, with a moan tearing from her throat and her body automatically lifting itself from the mattress in an attempt to be closer to him.

She gasped his name, hoping he would like the way his name sounded from her breathless lips and when his hand fell away from her thigh she brought her leg down and spread it out further, widening his access and allowing his hips to slip that little bit closer to hers.

Not missing the look on his face as he saw how closely they were now situated, Rangiku's heart rate quickened until she was practically panting for him.

"Can I?" Toshiro asked and Rangiku could only nod quickly in response, her voice lost in her throat somewhere.

Her eyes were closed, making the touch sensation more focused as his fingers finally found her heat, albeit on the outside of her underwear.

All she could think about as he began to rub was how much she wanted him.

"Toshiro," she panted, trying to keep her voice steady but failing, "P-please".

It was a credit to his work really, because Rangiku had never considered herself as one to beg for sex. During past experiences with other men, most of the time she'd just want to get it over with, feeling like it was an obligation not a privilege, or like a chore instead of a treat. This was not the case now, however, as Rangiku felt Toshiro slide off her underwear and when she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her exposed womanhood .

No, this time it was definitely an honour – for both of them.

His virgin stare was concentrated on it though and after a minute, Rangiku had to move her legs to disrupt his vision, only because she didn't want him to stare long enough to realise how ugly vaginas actually were and turn gay on her.

"Ah sorry," Toshiro mumbled, moving back up her body and kissing her warm cheek, "You're just so beautiful."

That really only made the blush on her face worse though.

"It feels weird to have someone staring so intently at it," Rangiku smiled awkwardly against him.

Female genitals were weird-looking, but they were also very fascinating, Rangiku supposed, what with their bits and bobs and what not, especially to someone who had never seen one up close before. She couldn't really blame him, but maybe they could save the staring for another day when she was less aroused and more patient.

"I know I'm sorry," Toshiro apologised quickly, "I just want to commit all of you to my memory, but we can work up to that if it makes you more comfortable."

Lying back down, Rangiku relaxed as Toshiro continued with his early actions, but this time there was no fabric to dull the sensation of his skin on hers. He found her clit pretty much straight away and automatically her body was arching off the mattress again as a sharp shock of pleasure rolled through her body.

"Oh, f-fuck," Rangiku gasped as Toshiro decided to pay further attention to the sensitive bundle of nerves.

It felt so good, Rangiku could hardly think, the only thought she had was that she hoped he'd come back to her clit when they were finally having intercourse, because if she was actually going to come, she was going to need the clit's help since she had never climaxed from penetration alone before. Oddly enough, it was the rubbing of the clit that generally made her want the penetration in the first place, telling her she could get more pleasure from something inside her even though that was yet to prove itself.

"T-Toshiro," Rangiku gasped, her voice hoarse, "In me."

It was an impatient demand that only proved her point.

"Hold on," Toshiro groaned, seemingly equally aroused as he kissed her neck, "I want to try something else first."

She was confused until she felt his fingers at her entrance, and she widened her legs to let him in. It was probably a good idea that he stretched her a bit to make his cock less painful later, especially if she wanted to avoid any memories of her last sexual encounter.

His fingers were nice inside of her but already she missed the feeling of him rubbing her clit. Toshiro also wasn't fingering her like a normal person; he had a determined expression and he seemed to be searching for something inside of her.

"What are y- oh!" Rangiku cried out as the most intense wave of pleasure that she had ever experienced just washed over her entire body, from the top of her head down to her toes.

Toshiro found the spot inside her again and Rangiku inhaled sharply as the second wave washed over her. Her brain kept short circuiting as she tried to think about what was happening to her but she couldn't – she'd never experienced anything like this before.

Eventually she found the strength to ask Toshiro what it was, her hand on his shoulder as if it would stabilise her.

"It's your G-Spot," he informed her, a slight smirk pulling at his lips.

"Oh," was her intelligent response before he stroked the spot again, causing her to moan loudly and buck her pelvis.

Her whole body felt as though it was on fire with a foreign sense of pleasure as Toshiro pinned her firmly to the mattress with his weight. Rangiku wouldn't have thought she could feel a stronger sense of pleasure but when he combined stroking her G-Spot with rubbing her clit as well as sucking her nipple, Rangiku knew it was game over for her.

Toshiro was a genius – he'd found her three most sensitive and pleasurable areas and used them against her, bringing her to the brink of orgasm in mere seconds.

Rangiku knew she'd lost all control as he continued to touch and pleasure her. She was covered in sweat, panting, moaning, swearing, convulsing and thrashing about, trying to arch into him more, but she couldn't have cared less in that moment as wave after wave of hot arousal pumped through her body.

It just felt so damn good, and when her orgasm came, it came hard.

Her vision went white; maybe she fainted, she didn't know, but at the next conscious moment she had Toshiro had rolled off her and was lying patiently beside her, watching curiously as she came down from the ultimate high.

Eventually she got her breathing under enough control to ask him about it.

"Tha-" Rangiku started but difficult inhaling cut her short. She shook her head and tried again, "Where did you learn all that?"

Wasn't he supposed to be a virgin for goodness sake?!

"Well let's just say Yukio taught me a lot," Toshiro answered with a chuckle.

"I didn't even know…" Rangiku continued to pant although it was slowly getting easier to breath, "I mean I know the G-spot was a thing but just…"

Well, no one had ever found it before (or even looked) so she'd forgotten about it. She might have even assumed it was a myth, but to be honest, she had never given it much thought. Sex had always been about getting her partner to come as fast as possible – it had never been about her.

"Not many guys know it exist so a lot of women assume they don't have one because their partners are so uneducated," Toshiro told her, although Rangiku might have also pointed out that most of her partners had been more selfish than uneducated but she was still to breathless for that debate right now.

"Well I am impressed," she murmured instead, curling into his bod and resting her head on his shoulder. His arousal was obvious in his pants and she was definitely going to look after that but she just needed another minute to compose herself, "Give me a moment."

"Are you cold?" he asked but Rangiku just shook her head. Definitely not cold right now, the pleasure was still red hot in her groin but she knew that if she left it too long, her sweat soaked body would grow cold and her arousal would die.

Lifting herself up, she shot Toshiro as sexy grin.

"Now I get to return the favour?" she asked, voice low and sultry as her hand dropped lower to his trouser-clad boner.

She barely grazed it when the man gasped and pulled her hand away. Scared that she'd hurt him or scared him, Rangiku's eyes shot back to him and looked for signs of pain or distress.

"S-sorry," Toshiro stammered, "I literally nearly came as you did."

He threw his arm over his face and Rangiku frowned at his embarrassment. It was nothing to be ashamed of, he was a virgin, it was perfectly normal. In fact, many would have come already. If anything, it was actually a compliment to her – it would be embarrassing if she couldn't make him come.

"Toshiro, please stop being embarrassed about that," Rangiku muttered, pulling his arm away so she could look into his eyes, "I find it endearing that you almost got off just by bringing me pleasure. I don't think I've ever been in a situation like that before."

This time she kissed his knuckles, enjoying the feel of his cool, smooth skin against her lips and the smell of her own arousal on him.

"Please," she smiled at him encouragingly, "I want to make your first time special."

"I really won't last very long," he mumbled.

"I don't care," Rangiku rolled her eyes, "Please, please let me do this for you?"

She wanted to make him feel as good as he had just made her feel.

"Okay," he agreed at last and Rangiku smiled widely as she slowly undid his trousers, giving him every opportunity to pull out if he changed his mind.

They got his pants off and Rangiku took a moment to sweep her eyes over his erection, although she certainly didn't linger the way he had. It was bigger than she had expected it to be, given his smaller frame, but it wasn't nearly as big as Gin's monster had been, which she was definitely thankful for.

"You've got a really pretty cock, Toshiro," she told him with a small grin as she stroked the length with her finger and noticed it twitch with her compliment.

"T-thanks," he muttered, blush strong.

It really was rather pretty, as far as penises went. It really did look like the perfect size to her; it wasn't intimidating but she knew it would bring her plenty of pleasure, especially if he was going to keep finding her G-spot in future. In its erect state, it stood proudly with throbbing veins around it like vines. It was beautiful, just like the rest of him, and Rangiku couldn't wait to feel it inside her.

Climbing on top of him, Rangiku seated herself just above it, grasping it and preparing to sink down, connecting them at last.

"Do- ah, do we need a condom?" Toshiro asked, looking up at her for an answer.

"If you want that's fine with me," she answered truthfully, "But I'm safe and I'm on birth control. I'm happy for our first time to be without one… I want to feel all of you and I want you to feel everything too."

Swallowing but nodding, Rangiku took that as her cue to continue, slowly lowering herself down onto his cock until he was completely buried inside her. She remained seated to allow them both to get comfortable, watching him intently for any negative signs but so far she only saw pleasure on his face. His hands landed on her hips as he eventually opened his eyes, his thumbs rubbing nice circles into her skin.

Toshiro was so sweet, still trying to make sure she was comfortable even though it was her who promised to look after him this time. Inside, his dick fit perfectly; it was like they had been custom fit for each other, like they were a perfectly designed match. With him inside her, Rangiku felt so warm and full – completely satisfied.

"I could get used to this," she muttered to herself before she lifted herself back up and lowered her body down again.

"F-fuck," Toshiro gasped instantly, eye's bulging impossibly wide, "Rangiku wa-wait. I'm going…"

Oh she knew exactly what he was going to do, but she didn't stop. She didn't want him to try and hold on any longer. It was about pleasing him now – she'd had her turn and what an incredible turn it had been – it was time to return the favour.

Plus, it also felt really good for her.

She continued with her actions as she rose until only the very tip was still inside her before dropping back down to his base, speeding up ever so slightly with each go, and after only a few more falls back onto his cock, Toshiro was crying out and doubling over as he came.

Rangiku felt his seed shooting inside her, causing her to gasp and lean over him. Even that had felt good with him.

Looking down at her partner below her, Toshiro was in an incredible state, completely blown apart by the strength of his first climax inside a vagina. He looked amazing, Rangiku noted, loving the way he panted as he recovered from the feeling of being inside her.

Carefully, Rangiku lifted herself off him, ignoring the hot semen slowly seeping back out of her and laid down beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, running a finger down his heaving chest and relishing in the warmth radiating off it.

"Yes," he answered eventually between pants.

"I'm glad," Rangiku chuckled, shifting over until she was pressed right against him and settling her head over his chest.

His heart was going mental, and Rangiku's head was being lifted with his chest with every pant but she'd never felt more comfortable, especially as his arms wrapped around her. She stayed silent as he took the time to calm down but she continued to smile.

Rangiku hoped his first time had been everything he had hoped it would be. It might have been a petty way to look at things but she was glad she was his first, because now no matter what happened, he would never be able to forget her. She only wished he had been her first too, but in a way he kind of was.

He was the first she'd ever loved, and the first who had ever properly loved her back. He was the first to be attracted to her personality rather than her looks. He was the first to really respect her, both her body and as a woman. He was the first to find her G-spot and really that was a major accomplishment sex-wise.

When his heart rate started to even out again, Rangiku twisted to look at him.

"I love you."

She had already said it tonight but she wanted to say it again, and again, and every day for the rest of her life.

Toshiro's eyes softened and his lips broke into the most adorable smile ever. He leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

"I love you too."


	8. A New Start

**OH MY GOODNESS YOU GUYS WE ARE SOO SO SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN US SO LONG TO UPDATE! LIFE GOT IN THE WAY BIG TIME BUT HERE WE ARE NOW WITH THIS CHAPTER AND THE EPILOGUE SO PLEASE ENJOY AND DON'T HATE USSSSSSSS.**

 **Love you guys xx**

…

Waking up that morning had been beautiful. Wrapped in her new boyfriend's warm arms, listening to his heart beating evenly in his chest, sunlight filtering through the tiny gaps in the blinds; warm. It was so far from every other morning she had woken up to this year; for once she wasn't alone, she wasn't cold and she wasn't waking up from a terrifying nightmare. Glancing up at Toshiro's resting face, Rangiku smiled softly, raising her hand to ghost over the features of his face; finger tips tracing an invisible sketch of his peaceful face. Rangiku could hardly believe she had been gifted with this man.

Last night had been amazing, Toshiro had been amazing; the love confessions, the sex, the cuddling – all of it so incredible. It was almost enough for her to forget the incident at the restaurant but unfortunately that was still well engrained in her mind.

Sighing internally, Rangiku untangled herself from Toshiro's arms and sat up, the CEO stirring at her movements, breathing her name as he rolled onto his stomach beside her and settled back down. Rangiku couldn't help but grin, softly running her fingers through his hair as he sighed contently in his sleep. She smiled, pulling up the covers over his shoulders. She vaguely remembered waking momentarily last night; he must have left the bed because she recalled him sliding in beside her as she rolled back into him, his fingers cool from being out of bed as he stroked her hair lazily. That had felt good too; no wonder he liked it so much.

Once satisfied that she hadn't woken her new man up, Rangiku slipped out of bed, popping on her glasses, and tip toeing around the room, scooping up Toshiro's shirt and throwing it on, not bothering to button it up since they had the penthouse to themselves now.

Quietly, she left the room, stopping by the guest room to give Haineko a cuddle and change her food and water, the kitten happy to see her after being alone all night. Of course, a kitten's attention could never be held long and soon enough the ball of grey and white fluff was scampering off into the room again. Rangiku returned quickly to Toshiro's room finding the genius exactly as she left him.

Eyeing her phone, Rangiku pursed her lips together and picked the thing up; she couldn't run from last night's incident forever and with Toshiro by her side, she felt much stronger and more confident about facing this. Slipping back into the bed, Rangiku sat up right beside the white haired man and unlocked her phone.

Before she even reached the internet, she had several missed calls and text messages from her friends and co-workers. Thankfully nothing from her parents which means they didn't yet know. Opening her Facebook, Rangiku found a video of the confrontation at the top of her news feed, with 1.6 million views, and 198 thousand shares. It had gone viral overnight, shared internationally across time zones. Someone had even added English subtitles. Rangiku had been tagged in it, so had Zeltrix and Game Station. Gin had deactivated his account.

Swallowing, Rangiku held her breath as she opened the comments section, fearing the worst. She hadn't bothered to watch the video, not wanting to re-live the moment or see how scared and pathetic she had looked. Thankfully, and unexpectedly, the comments were mostly in her favour, and the odd comment that had called her a slut or worse was shut down immediately by a barrage of Facebook users coming to her defence. Comments about Gin were largely negative, although the odd die-hard Game Station fan had reminded everyone that they didn't know the full story yet and therefore were unable to judge.

Comments about Toshiro were also very positive, which honestly relieved Rangiku more than anything else. People were commending him on standing up for her to a guy that towered over him, for giving her space and letting her take control when she felt brave enough, and most importantly it seemed, everyone seemed to applaud him giving up his secret identity to protect her. The Zeltrix fans were out in full force, praising their 'gaming god'. Very few mentioned his looks, the ones that did simply stating they hadn't expected him to look that way but there was no criticism. In fact, a number of women were saying they found him highly attractive and 'well hot', which Rangiku could certainly agree with although she didn't love the twinge of possessiveness that zapped through her.

Sighing, Rangiku flicked over to google, checking news articles. There was no new information contained within them, most of them summarising the events of the video, highlighting the history of the companies and men involved and stating that none of them had yet made public statements about the incident. Of course they hadn't, it only been about twelve hours and they had been asleep for most of it.

Movement beside her brought her attention to the man beside her who was stirring again, this time he was definitely waking.

"Good morning," Rangiku smiled, voice upbeat despite what she had been reading about.

"Morning," Toshiro murmured sleepy into the pillow.

Chuckling at his drowsy state, Rangiku returned her phone to the nightstand and snuggled down beside him, his heat radiating off him and warming her once again.

"How bad is it?" Toshiro asked, voice low and his eyes still shut.

Glancing over at him, Rangiku hesitated a second.

"It's not that bad," she answered, "not as bad as we expected."

Most people had expressed support for her and Toshiro, although the odd 'slut' comment resurfacing in her mind despite not paying much initial attention to them had her flinching for a moment. Toshiro was immediately reaching for her, teal irises visible again as he caught her hand and kissed the back of it. The gesture had her grinning at him, reminded once again of the day the met in person. Rangiku removed her glasses and placed them back on the stand beside her phone before snuggling back down again, the plastic frames no longer digging into her skin.

"Did I ever tell you, you look very attractive with glasses?" Toshiro mumbled through a lazy smile.

"Did I ever tell you that you look adorable snuggled in bed like that?" Rangiku retorted with a chuckle, knowing exactly what adorable reaction she was going to get.

Instantly, his cheeks were pink and he was trying to turn away from her with a huff but Rangiku tugged him back.

"I'm sorry," she giggled, "so, so, so sorry, really sorry."

She wasn't at all sorry though. He was cute and his blushing was even cuter.

He conceded eventually and the two of them ended up wrapped around each other, perfectly content to stay still and silent, just lying in each other's presence. Rangiku could lie there with him forever, inhaling his scent and absorbing his warmth. Alas, they both had jobs, pretty important ones to the company.

"We have work," Rangiku voice her thoughts eventually, although the idea of leaving the bed was not at all appealing and the thought of returning to work after so many of her colleagues had seen the video posted of them last night was anxiety-inducing.

"No we don't" Toshiro replied, opening his eyes again as Rangiku pulled back to stare at him questioningly, "We're taking some much needed time off."

"Are you sure that's okay?" Rangiku asked, frowning deeply. She didn't want to be letting him, the company or her team down by taking some unplanned time off, no matter how much she was dreading seeing everyone again.

Of course, Toshiro the bastard thought her concern was hilarious as he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Let me check with the boss," Toshiro chortled as Rangiku smacked his arm softly, eyes rolling, "yeah he said it's okay."

"Shut up," Rangiku grinned, loving the sound of her boyfriend's laughter in her ears and the flash of confidence overcoming him for a moment. It was cute. It was sexy. The last thought gave her a bit of an idea, and she bit her lip a little. "Fine, so we have some time of…"

She smirked widely as she moved closer to him, her mind already in a dark dirty place.

"What are you-" Toshiro started to ask before being cut off by Rangiku's hand on his stomach, which quickly dipped to graze the waistband of his boxes.

"If we're going to be locked up here together and not looking at news sources," she drawled, lowering her voice, "then we'd better think of other ways to spend our time wouldn't you agree?"

She was already have an effect on him, Rangiku observed as Toshiro's flushed and his eyes glazed over for a moment, obviously her hand getting a little too close to the prize for a moment there. Grinning to herself, Rangiku leaned in and pressed her lips to his neck, feeling him swallow beneath her lips.

"I-I guess," Toshiro stuttered as Rangiku continued her administrations, hand moving lower towards his boxers again.

"Can I?" she whispered in his ear, just resisting the temptation to nibble on his earlobe.

He nodded enthusiastically, Rangiku's grin only widening at his response as she let her hand wander back to his boxers, gliding over the waistband and palming the half hard bulge. Toshiro gasped, head falling back as Rangiku sought to change their position, flinging her leg over Toshiro's hips and pushing herself on top of him, hovering. She smiled softly as she noticed Toshiro's eyes flitter down to the open shirt she was wearing that was no longer covering her breasts, he swallowed as her looked, cheeks flushed with arousal and Rangiku bit her lip softly; she liked him looking at her that way.

Lowering herself, Rangiku kissed his chest before kissing it again, this time slightly lower, and then lower again. This was the proper treatment this man deserved; it was not a rush drop she would do on a man like Gin. Toshiro deserved better than that, he deserved everything Rangiku could give him and gods she wanted to give it all to him – every single part of her. Continuing down his body, Rangiku kissed, licked and teased, backing down the bed, the covers creeping up over her body as she slipped between his legs. She smiled the whole way down, excited to give him this.

Eventually the covers fell over her head, the top half of Toshiro's body disappearing with it, and Rangiku's world was darkened greatly but she could still see what she was working with.

Finally.

Pulling down his boxers, Rangiku grinned as her new boyfriend's erection bounced out, eager to be held, desperate to be touched. She wasted no time in kissing the head of it before moving to the shaft and kissing up the side of it. She reached the head again and wrapped her lips around it, sinking down and letting him slide into her mouth, Toshiro's groan meeting her ears, muffled only slightly by the barrier of the covers.

Her administrations were clearly appreciated as indicated by his very vocal gasps and moans, encouraging Rangiku further. She swallowed, knowing it would drive him mad, and allowed his member to slide further inside her, her gag reflex pretty well ignored; Toshiro was not a man she could ever gag over, he was too gorgeous.

"Fuck, fuck," Toshiro swore, hissing as his hips jutted slightly as he obviously tried to restrain himself from bucking. Rangiku truly appreciated that.

She continued to swallow around him; it was likely that he would be getting close soon, especially as he was still new to a woman's touch, let alone a fully fledge blow job, and Rangiku wanted to make sure his first one would be one he would remember for the rest of his life.

"Rangiku," Toshiro called breathlessly, confirming her suspicions as she pulled up to pay more attention to the beautiful head of his cock, fingers grazing past his balls teasingly.

"Rangiku," Toshiro repeated, voice more desperate now.

Rangiku grinned; she had one last little trick of him, something to send him over the edge, something she was sure a man like him would enjoy. It was as simple as eye contact.

Pulling off him, the strawberry blonde threw back the covers, revealing Toshiro's flustered and sweaty face, his white hair sticking to his forehead as he stared down at her, pupils blown wide and lips parted between pants. Oh, he was not going to last long at all. Perfect.

Grinning again, Rangiku pressed her lips back onto the head of his cock and let it sink back inside her. Her eyes locked onto his dark teal orbs; they stared at each other, Toshiro watching her every move. He was just so gorgeous, and honestly, the thought of him and what Rangiku was doing for him made her smile so hard that her cheeks hurt, more so than any pain in her jaw from sucking him off.

His eyes didn't leave her until it was finally too much for him. Humming around him had apparently been the final straw, his entire body snapping for a moment as he came hard down her throat, Rangiku only just managing to catch his hips before they accidently thrust into her. Toshiro's eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head for a moment as he fell limply back against the sheets, Rangiku helping him ride through the orgasm waves by continuing to swallow around, taking in all of his semen. It tasted good too, it wasn't harsh or gross, it just tasted like… like Toshiro.

When he eventually seemed to regain a little more awareness, Rangiku let his now flaccid member fall out of her mouth, pressing a small kiss to it before she crawled back up beside him, her smirk growing.

"You broke my brain," he complained, his words complimenting her as he covered his eyes with his arm.

"Well consider it a favour being returned for last night," Rangiku chuckled as she settled back down beside him, the memory of the powerful orgasm that had rocked her last night as he found her G-Spot and clitoris and abused the hell out of them flashed through her mind.

"Give me a moment," Toshiro panted, "I'll return the favour again."

Laughing, Rangiku shook her head and rolled onto her back, "You don't have to."

Toshiro was still brand new to the whole sex thing; Rangiku didn't want to put any pressure on him. Besides, she was used to giving more than she got and for the first time, Rangiku was okay with that. Toshiro deserved the best.

Apparently he disagreed with her thoughts, even though he had not heard them, for the next thing Rangiku knew, Toshiro was rolling over her and switching their early position. Rangiku stared, eyes wide, as a small glint of confidence and mischievousness flashed in her partner's eyes.

"Oh," Rangiku managed, barely, as realisation hit her, but any future words became strangled by moans as Toshiro's lips sunk down onto her.

…

Their bedroom party moved to the shower not long after, but this time it was much slower as they stood under the warm water, completely bare to each other. They got to know each other's bodies in a far more intimate way than sex, if that could be believed, Toshiro's kisses on her skin full of love, car and passion, but not lust. It was the complete opposite of what she was used to, and Rangiku couldn't stop smiling.

Toshiro seemed happier now, stress and anxiety seemingly washed away with the sweat of their bodies and the raging internet storm forgotten for a moment as he took an interest with the small moles on her back. He was so gentle and tender with her; she had no doubt that he was genuinely very much in love with her. It left a warm, fuzzy feeling inside her; it gave her a sense of hope and security she hadn't had in such a long time. Not since she had lived with her parents anyway.

Her parents.

Rangiku's smile turned a little sad at the thought.

At that moment, Toshiro turned away to adjust the water temperature and Rangiku latched onto him, hugging him around the middle and burying her face into his shoulder blades, even if she had to slouch down to reach them.

"I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too," Toshiro chuckled, trying to turn back to her but Rangiku only tightened her arms around him and sighed sadly, Toshiro sensing her change in mood, "What's wrong?"

"My parents," she answered, exhaling.

"Doesn't seem like an appropriate thought when we're standing naked in a shower together," Toshiro joked and it was enough to make Rangiku chuckle softly as she smacked his arm, glad he was trying to lighten the mood for her.

"I mean, they'll likely see the video from yesterday…" Rangiku explained loosely, letting the implications of the issue speak for themselves.

She still hadn't told them. She needed to, desperately; it was still early and they weren't ones to spend a lot of time on the internet but it was still only a matter of time before they heard the news and Rangiku needed it to come from her. She felt so guilty for hiding herself away from them when they would have given her love and support, but Rangiku had been too scared and too proud. She had been a coward.

"We can call them when we're done showering," Toshiro suggested gently, turning in her arms and brushing a stray strand of wet hair from her face, "I'll be right beside you. The world is going to know now so we need to deal with the consequences, the faster we call your parents the sooner we can go back to living in a bubble of just us."

 _A bubble of just us_ … that sounded like the perfect world for Rangiku right now, but he was right, it was time to tell her parents, no more putting it off or finding excuses. Like a Band Aid – don't draw it out, just rip it off. She smiled and reached down to grab his hand, kissing the back of it like he had done for her so many times.

"I can't wait to introduce you to them," Rangiku grinned, settling on her decision, "they're going to love you."

"Ah, meeting the parents," Toshiro flushed, mildly panicked, "you know exactly the right kind of thing to say to make a man fear the world."

That really did make Rangiku laugh, "But surely the world finding out Toshiro is in face Mr Hyorinmaru is scarier?"

"No, no" Toshiro shook his head quickly, "definitely meeting the parents."

"Well, we can talk about it later," Rangiku grinned. It was definitely happening; he was going to meet them.

And that's exactly what her parents had said when she called them after the shower and told them about her new boyfriend and the man who protected her. That was of course once all the crying was done, when Rangiku told them the bad news. Hearing her mum cry was bad enough, but hearing her dad cry? Well, that was something Rangiku doubted she would ever be able to forget. Toshiro had been beside her the whole time – holding her hand, rubbing her back and handing her tissues and water. He was too good for her, not that he would agree. The phone call had been awful, but at least Rangiku had been able to deliver the news herself and explain the truth and her parents understood that she would be laying low for a few days, maybe even weeks or as long as it took for the world to move on to the next big scandal. They said their goodbyes and hung up with the promise of seeing each other soon.

Rangiku whipped away the last tears she would ever shed over this issue as Toshiro locked their phones away and steered her to the living room, where they huddled up under a blanket with hot chocolates and Friends season one to ten. Her smile returned as her white haired boyfriend kissed her hand once again, the tune of 'I'll Be There For You,' in the background.

…

Christmas came around quickly after Rangiku had spent her first night at Toshiro's penthouse apartment. Despite originally agreeing to stay only a couple of nights, Rangiku hadn't actually spent a night away since then, only heading back to her apartment to pick up more of her and Haineko's things. It was pretty much accepted that she lived with Toshiro now, especially since the white haired man had yesterday given her the business card of his real estate agent who would apparently do a fantastic job of selling her apartment if that was something she wanted to do (she did). Fortunately Yukio didn't appear to have a problem with it, especially since Rukia too spent most nights at the penthouse.

"Okay, all the food is ready and keeping warm in the oven," Rangiku announced, slipping into the bedroom to find Toshiro pacing back and forth across the window, "Everyone should be here in the next fifteen minutes."

Toshiro faltered a little in his otherwise almost rhythmic pacing, pausing to check his watch and glaring at it as if time had betrayed him. Rangiku giggled a little, sliding over to him and wrapping her arms around him from behind. She pressed a small kiss to his temple.

"Nervous about hosting?" Rangiku asked softly, hugging him tighter.

"Not hosting, no," Toshiro murmured back.

"My parents?"

There was a slight pause that gave Rangiku his answer before his words could.

Somehow, despite everything that had been going on around them, Toshiro had decided to host a Christmas lunch for their friends and family at the penthouse. It had started when he had invited Rangiku to spend Christmas with him, and when her parents had refused to let her spend Christmas away from them after they had found out about the Gin-incident. Yukio had of course wanted to spend Christmas with Toshiro and Rukia, which had then led to Rukia's brother and the Zeltrix head of Finance, Byakuya Kuchiki, joining them. Ichigo refused to be left out once he had heard everyone was gathering at the penthouse for a Christmas day lunch, which meant he, Renji and a lonely Isshin were also attending since the twins were spending Christmas with the respective partners. A myriad of family and travel-related dramas had eventually led to Rangiku's friends, Nanao and Orihime, to also be joining them.

It had become quite the gathering, totalling in twelve people to feed. Luckily Rukia had suggested that each group bring a dish on the day, so the Shiba-Abarai clan had decided to bring a salad, Nanao would take care of the cooked vegetables, Rangiku and Rukia would tackle the meat, Toshiro and Yukio would organise drinks and Rangiku's mother would make her famous Japanese Christmas cake.

"What if I'm… not what they're expecting?" Toshiro grumbled eventually, with a vague gesture to his entire body.

"Well I think they know what you look like now," Rangiku rolled her eyes; everyone knew what he looked like now, "Besides, I think you'll see your height won't faze them."

Toshiro frowned and twisted to look at her, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Rangiku laughed, and sent him a playful wink before releasing him.

Toshiro didn't look the slightest bit satisfied with her answer but Rangiku only grinned back at him before she turned and moved over to her hand bag and pulled out an envelope, his name in her handwriting scrolled across the front and a little gift wrap bow stuck onto the top corner.

"Merry Christmas, Toshiro," Rangiku smiled, handing it out to him.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow, slowing taking it from her and glancing down at it.

"I thought we said no presents?" Toshiro asked, flipping it over and running his finger over the heart-shaped sticker sealing the envelope.

"We said we wouldn't _buy_ gifts for each other," Rangiku explained, "I didn't _buy_ anything."

It had been her suggestion, only because she knew Toshiro was a fan of large financial gestures, and she didn't want him to spend so much on her, especially after how much he already had and how new their relationship was, not to mention how taxing the whole viral video situation had been over the last week or so. It also saved Rangiku the stress of working out what to buy a man who literally had everything.

Toshiro's surprise quickly turned to a small chuckle, and Rangiku's eyebrows shot up when he then proceeded to pull a small velvet-covered box from his pocket.

"I guess we both found the loop-hole in that promise," he grinned, handing it to her, "Merry Christmas, Rangiku."

Rangiku frowned as she took the box from him; what he had just told her implied that he hadn't paid for whatever it was, but the box seemed to imply jewellery, which – if she knew his taste at all – was probably very expensive and would make her gift to him seem like utter garbage by comparison. It wasn't small enough to contain a ring or even earrings, but possibly a bracelet. Her fingers shook a little as she opened it… It was key – just a normal, brass key.

"It's for the penthouse," Toshiro informed her, words spilling out fast, "I just thought that since – since you're practically l-living here now, you should have a key… to m-make it more official."

Inhaling sharply, Rangiku stared down at the key, shakily running a finger over it. It was the spare key that she had borrowed on the odd occasion when she had needed to duck out to pick up some more clothes from her apartment, but now Toshiro had given to her; _was this his way of asking her to permanently move in?_

"You want me to stay?" Rangiku asked, slowly seating herself on the edge of the bed, "Like… forever?"

Toshiro nodded before adding a quick, "Only if you want to."

"I do," Rangiku answered quickly, ignoring how much she had just sounded like she was agreeing to marry him.

Suddenly seeing some of the tension releasing from Toshiro's shoulders, the teal eyed man stepped forward to press a chaste kiss to her lips, Rangiku kissing him back to show her thanks for the gift.

Sitting down beside her, Toshiro's attention turned back to the envelope in his hand and he carefully began to open it, going painfully slow as he tried not to rip the paper in any way. Eventually he got there, and reached inside to pull out the contents – a letter and two photographs.

The photographs were of the two of them sitting together on the penthouse balcony, taken only seconds apart by Rukia who had showed them to Rangiku later in private. At the time, they had been drinking cocktails on the balcony with Yukio and Rukia, celebrating Toshiro's well-received public statement that the Zeltrix CEO had actually felt fairly confident about. It was one of the first moments they'd had since the videos were released online where they genuinely felt carefree and weren't worrying about the fall out. In the first photograph, they were laughing and looking at each other, love and affection in their eyes, and in the second one, Toshiro was pressing his lips to the back of her hand as he had always done, their eye contact still maintained. She remembered him telling her straight afterwards that he loved her and she was worth giving up his secret identity for.

"For your jet's photo board," Rangiku explained, "Since you wanted a photo."

"I love these," Toshiro smiled, still staring down at them, "I didn't even notice them taking photos of us."

He moved to open the folded letter but Rangiku quickly stopped him.

"It's about what you mean to me," Rangiku explained, "It's sappy and embarrassing, so I'm going to make you postpone reading it until later, when I'm not in the room."

Toshiro chuckled but thankfully put the letter down, reaching across her to put it in the top drawer of his nightstand.

"I can't wait," he murmured, kissing her softly again, "Thank you."

"No, thank you," Rangiku hummed, kissing him back.

They had kissed for a while after that, almost working themselves into quite a state but the door bell ringing interrupted them. The first of the guests arrived, and Rangiku heard Orihime's excited voice gush about the grandeur of the penthouse and groaned, realising she would have to get up and introduce her friends to everyone.

Holding Toshiro's hand, they exited his bedroom and Rangiku greeted her friends, introducing Orihime and Nanao to Toshiro, as well as Yukio and Rukia (who, incidentally, also looked like they had been in the middle of something when the bell had rung). Toshiro had met the girls unofficially over facetime when Rangiku had been on the phone to them one evening, but this was the first time meeting them in person.

Toshiro greeted them as the most charming man that even the naturally stiff and composed Nanao seemed a little swept up when shaking his hand. Rangiku could practically see the hearts forming in Orihime's eyes as the ginger haired girl's flirt naturally switched on whenever she saw an attractive guy. Glaring at her friend, Rangiku pulled Toshiro closer to her, pointedly asking Orihime how her new boyfriend, Ulquiorra or something, was spending his Christmas. Her big breasted friend seemed to be momentarily shaken from her trance, mumbling something about Ulquiorra having a young daughter that he was spending Christmas with.

Thankfully the door bell rung again, and Rangiku quickly pulled Toshiro away to greet Ichigo, Renji and Isshin as they wandered through the door. She was glad that Toshiro had time to greet familiar people first and get comfortable in the room before her parents arrived, but they weren't far behind everyone.

Rangiku opened the door to let her parents in, hugging them and kissing them both on the cheeks. They entered and she felt all eyes turn on them but ignored it as she took the Christmas cake from her mother and placed it on the nearest table.

Looking over her shoulder at Toshiro, who was staring, lips parted in surprise, Rangiku winked at him before standing between her parents and starting to introduce them.

"Of course, you guys know Isshin," Rangiku gestured to the tall father at the back, and then towards Ichigo, "And you remember his son, Ichigo, right? And that's Renji – Ichigo's husband. Oh and you already know the girls."

Nanao and Orihime waved when her parents nodded quickly, and then Rangiku drew her parents to the newer faces.

"This is Rukia and Yukio," Rangiku told her parents, "They're Toshiro's best friends. And that's Byakuya over there, he's Rukia's brother."

"Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Matsumoto," Rukia said, bowing swiftly and in time with Byakuya, and nudging Yukio to break his stare and copy her which he promptly obliged.

"Yes lovely to meet you both," Yukio added quickly.

Rangiku stifled a giggle, and rolled her eyes a little. She knew why they were all staring; Rangiku's mother, Suki Matsumoto, was even taller than her – blonde and gorgeous, even despite her age. She was a former runway model and now the face of one of Japan's leading skincare companies. She was never what people expected when Rangiku talked about her mother, because like Rangiku, her personality didn't match her looks. Nobody expected the model to be the lovey-dovey, somewhat over-protective mother that she was with a passion for knitting and baking.

Then there was her father, Kazuo Matsumoto, who was approximately the same height as Toshiro, perhaps even an inch or two shorter. He had slightly greying ginger hair, thick black glasses and was wearing one of his wife's knitted sweaters. He was a pharmacist who had first met his future wife at grocery store and through bumbling wit, had managed to ask her to have coffee with him. Now thirty years later, they were the perfect example of why Rangiku and Toshiro's relationship could work despite appearances.

Grinning, Rangiku stepped out from between her parents and pulled Toshiro beside her.

"Mum and Dad," Rangiku called their attention back, "This is Toshiro Hitsugaya, my boyfriend."

Toshiro blinked for a surprised moment before bowing hurriedly. He straightened and extended a hand out which was promptly shook by her father.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Sir," Toshiro smiled at her father and then to her mother, "Rangiku has told me so many wonderful things."

"Likewise," Suki returned the smile and pulled Toshiro in for a tight hug, oblivious to the fact the CEO was going in for a hand shake instead, "We saw what you did for our little girl and we have to thank you for protecting her."

Kazuo, ever the quiet man, only nodded his agreement as Toshiro was released, a pink tinge flushed across his cheeks. Behind her, Rangiku heard Yukio start to chuckle before Rukia's elbow slammed into his ribs and he hissed in pain instead.

"No need to thank me, Ma'am," Toshiro murmured, trying to recover some of his earlier charm, "Rangiku was very strong and stood up for both of us."

Rangiku had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes when her father straightened proudly; she was definitely a daddy's girl and Kazuo seemed to have no shame when it came to gushing about his 'baby girl' and her achievements. While her mother had been a mess when they found out Rangiku had been raped, Kazuo had been able to push past that and congratulate her for being able to confront her attacker like that, although he had been disappointed when she decided not to press charges against Gin.

"You stood up for me first," Rangiku retorted, nudging him like she was child teasing her classmate, a small blush forming on her own cheeks.

Toshiro's only response was to flash his sexy grin at her before he was stepping forward and offering to take her parents coats for them, as they (Suki) insisted he call them 'Mum and Dad' instead of 'Mr and Mrs Matsumoto' or 'Sir and Ma'am', which he did, much to her mother's delight.

Overall, the first meeting between her boyfriend and her parents went very well, as did the rest of the Christmas lunch. The food had been good and they had all eaten way too much and the drinks had been even better, which was obvious by the way Rangiku had to lean against Nanao so the room would stop spinning.

They were seated on the large couch, watching as Ichigo and Renji challenged Rukia and Yukio to a couples ballroom dance-off (Rukia and Yukio were the clear winners) and Byakuya sat at the other end of the couch, observing with a disapproving expression. Isshin was seated beside the older Kuchiki but seemed to have fallen into a food coma, asleep with his chin to his chest and snoring softly. On the other side of the room, Orihime was getting tips for posing for photographs off Suki which had Nanao rolling her eyes so much she had begun to complain about having a head ache, but as Rangiku pointed out, that was probably the wine. Toshiro and Kazuo had seemed to hit it off, still sitting at the dinner table and discussing… something? Rangiku hadn't checked in with them for a while, not wanting to interrupt the bond they were forming. As far as she could tell from a distance, Toshiro looked comfortable enough. She knew they'd get along, especially since they had so much in common, and not only in height and taste in women, but because they were both little nerds who had ended up running their own businesses despite a lack of business and/or social skills.

"So Toshiro is great," Nanao nudged her, taking a sip of her wine, "He seems to really care about you."

"He does," Rangiku grinned, sitting up again, "He asked me to move in today."

Nanao's eyebrows rose in surprise but she was also smiling.

"That's fantastic, Ran," she hummed, "You deserve to be happy with him."

Rangiku looked back over to where her boyfriend and father were deep in conversation and smiled. She was happy with him, and she only wished that she would be able to make him just as happy, because she could feel in her heart that he was, as her mother would say, 'the one'. Despite not being together long, Rangiku knew it was true; there would never be anyone else, no one who could make her feel the way he did – Toshiro was everything to her.

Settling back down on the couch, Rangiku lay with her head in Nanao's lap, feeling very happy and satisfied with the day's events as the dark haired woman ran her fingers through Rangiku's strawberry locks. The Zeltrix marketing lead laughed at the couples dance-off which seemed to now have taken a strictly hip hop turn, and giggled every time there was a swear word in the RnB song they were dancing too as Byakuya's eye would twitch each time.

Eventually though, the evening began to wrap up and Rangiku, not realising she had fallen asleep, was being woken up by Toshiro to say goodbye to her parents. Bleary eyed, Rangiku pulled herself to her feet with her boyfriend's help, and let him lead her over to her parents as they shrugged on their coats.

"Goodbye, Sweetheart," Suki murmured, hugging her and adding with a whisper, "He's the one."

"I know," Rangiku responded softly before turning to hug her father.

"He's very nice, I approve," her father told her quietly, "Stay safe, Rangiku."

"I will, Dad," Rangiku smiled.

Both of her parents said goodbye to Toshiro, her mother with another hug and her father with a strong handshake.

"You look after her," Kazuo told Toshiro as they walked out the door, "That's my baby girl."

"Of course," Toshiro pulled Rangiku closer.

"Good man," Kazuo nodded firmly before stepping into the elevator.

The Matsumoto's disappeared and Rangiku turned to Toshiro, hoping to hear that he liked them.

"They really liked you," Rangiku told him, "Even my dad and he doesn't usually like my boyfriends."

"I'm glad," Toshiro smiled, "They're both lovely."

"You think so?"

"How could I not?" Toshiro chuckled, "There is so much of you in both of them."

Rangiku grinned and hugged him close as they returned to the living room. Yukio and Rukia were curled up together and sleeping on the couch and Isshin too, having not moved an inch since the last time Rangiku had looked. Byakuya was gone now, and Nanao had also fallen asleep, her head resting on her arm and her glasses skewed over her face. In the corner, Ichigo, Renji and Orihime were playing a card game, still very much awake and full of energy.

"Ichigo and Renji are going to take Isshin home and the girls are going to stay in the guest room," Toshiro told her quietly, "Renji is going to move Nanao before they leave so we don't have to wake her."

"Wonderful," Rangiku yawned and nodded as she leaned against him. She was still half asleep herself and seeing all the sleeping people around her made her want to return to her own nap.

"Now let's get you back to bed," Toshiro murmured, obviously noticing her tiredness and guiding her to the bedroom.

Too tired to disagree, not that she would have, Rangiku stripped off her clothes once the door was closed behind them and practically fell into the bed, murmuring for him to join her. A moment later, she felt the mattress shift as his weight slipped in beside her and she curled up against him, eyes already drooping and mumbling a good night.

…

 **Please review xx**


	9. Epilogue

Rangiku stood on the balcony of their holiday villa, leaning against the cream sandstone railing and staring out at the stunning view that was Italy's Amalfi coast, the warm summer breeze tickling her arms. It was dusk; the sun had since set but there was still a deep blue light through the sky and around them, lights began to flicker on one by one in the surrounding buildings. Below, boats in the bay sat peacefully, moored up for the night and rocking gently in the calm crystal waters. Gods it was beautiful.

Behind her, Rangiku heard glasses tinkering and the sound of liquid pouring, followed by the dulled sound of a knife quickly slicing against a chopping board and moments later, footsteps and the sound of a tray being placed on the glass table on the balcony where she and Toshiro had just been sitting, making their way through a cheeseboard.

Two warm arms wrapped around her waist and soft lips pressed against her back, her skin exposed by the backless dress she was wearing.

"Better than a business trip?" Toshiro asked, voice low but relaxed.

That was where Toshiro had told Rangiku they were going – a business trip to Australia – but it wasn't until they were at the airport did he spring the surprise on her. Instead, they were going to have a romantic holiday to Italy, the country she had wanted to visit since she was young. They had done the Rome thing first, of course – seeing all the important things – before moving down to Venice which was beautiful too but very busy, and finally down to the Amalfi coast which was beyond gorgeous.

They hadn't done much, really. They had done the tourist thing in Rome and Venice but now it was time to simply relax. They slept in, ate breakfast on the balcony, curled up together and read books in the shade, enjoying the sea breeze. At night, they would go out to dinner if they were in the mood but her happy to eat in and curl up with a movie if they were tired. It was a proper relaxation holiday now. They had also made love countless times; fast, slow, trying different things to explore each other's bodies and turn ons. It had been wonderful.

"Much better," Rangiku sighed happily before she melted in Toshiro's arms and leaned down a little to kiss him.

It was a soft and sweet kiss, something she really loved receiving from him. It held no expectation for anything more. It was just pure and sweet affection.

Toshiro pulled back, his lips stretching into one of those gorgeous smiles that only she was privy to, the one that was reserved for her only.

"How did I get so lucky?" he hummed, reaching down to capture her hand before bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of it like he had always done.

"I think I'm the lucky one," Rangiku murmured back, causing Toshiro to chuckle softly.

The Zeltrix CEO led her back to wear they had been sitting together at the glass patio table and handed her a fresh drink. It was a citrusy cocktail that he had thrown together, with a sweetness through it.

It had been months now since the incident at the restaurant and thankfully the world had moved on to other scandals in the world. By comparison, Toshiro and Rangiku's love had gathered a bit of a following in the gaming and tech world. It seemed Toshiro was taken in with open arms into the business community he had hidden himself away from for so long. Everything was working out for them and it was amazing.

"Did you end up speaking to Rukia today?' Rangiku asked as she reached over the cheeseboard and plucked a grape from its stem, popping it into her mouth.

"Nope," Toshiro's lips tugged into a smile, "I trust that she's got everything under control."

"She would call you if something was wrong," Rangiku nodded, agreeing.

"I know," Toshiro hummed, "I'm happy to leave her to it. I don't want to think about the company when I'm on holiday with you."

Rukia had been left in charge of Zeltrix while they were away, and Ichigo had taken over the marketing department in Rangiku's absence. Not a single email or call was to come through to them while they were away, that had been Rukia and Ichigo's promise to them, but Rangiku still knew it was hard for Toshiro to completely let it go for the fortnight that they were away after years and years of constantly working. He would be up at all hours to field international calls from different time zones, while still working the nine to five life in the office. For the first time in his career, he was actually having proper time off, with no work-related interruptions and while that was everything he wanted, it must have been a shock to the system.

"I'm okay, seriously," Toshiro chuckled at Rangiku's slightly disbelieving face, "why would I want to be dealing with the company today when I could be here with you instead?"

Well, Rangiku did have to give him that. If it was up to her, they would never leave. She would quite easily sacrifice her career to spend the rest of her life here with Toshiro and the beautiful coastline, as potentially un-feminist as that might sound.

The things you do for love, right?

Rangiku laughed suddenly at that, feeling like she was Jaime Lannister about to push Bran Stark out a window.

"What's so funny?" Toshiro asked, confusion on his face.

"I had an inappropriately timed Game of Thrones thought," Rangiku shrugged, though the grin wouldn't fade.

"Ah," Toshiro said, eyes rolling a little, "and is that our show of choice tonight then?"

"No," Rangiku frowned quickly, "you know who dies in the next episode and I don't want to watch that on our holiday."

"Fair enough," Toshiro smirked.

Recently, they had started watching a number of their favourite shows together; Game of Thrones, Friends, Doctor Who, among others. It was fun, something they could settle down with at the end of the night and unwind. For the most part, they had seen all the episodes before, but sitting down to watch them together was like them taking the journey all over again, but this time they weren't alone.

"So what will we watch tonight then?" Toshiro asked.

"Friends?" Rangiku suggested hopefully, "It's the one where Monica and Chandler get married."

Suddenly Toshiro's body went stiff and he seemed to hesitate.

"Yeah," he said, voice unsure.

Rangiku looked up at him with concerned eyes.

"Toshiro," she called his name softly, "are you okay?"

She recognised his anxiety flaring up, having seen it so many times in the past, more so in the early days of their relationship. He had been getting better in the recent months, but that didn't mean it was fixed entirely. Anxiety was still inside him, lurking about. Rangiku did her best to comfort him without making him feel uncomfortable.

Teal eyes closed over and he took a deep breath before he leaned into her, and in turn let her know it was okay to lean into him. Rangiku did, curling into him and holding his hand to her chest, to her heartbeat, while his other arm wrapped around her and kept her close to him. He never said, but she suspected he liked the warmth, and being able to hold her even though maybe he was the one who needed to be held. Whatever worked for him, though, Rangiku wasn't about to argue it.

After several minutes, and several long, drawn out breaths, Toshiro spoke again.

"I have to ask you something," he murmured.

"What is it?" Rangiku asked softly and Toshiro shook his head, untangling himself from her.

Rangiku raised an eyebrow as he stood and held out a hand for her but she took it anyway and he helped her to her feet. The white haired man led her to the balcony and together they looked out across the bay, and the pretty little buildings lining the cliff walls.

"It's beautiful here," Rangiku said after a moment, when Toshiro hadn't spoken again.

"Not as beautiful as you," he murmured back in responses and Rangiku felt her cheeks go pink but otherwise didn't react. She was waiting for him to continue, to ask her what he wanted to.

"If someone told me I would be here one day with a girl as gorgeous as you, I'd have assumed they were trying to be mean," Toshiro murmured at last, "It's hard to believe this is my life now, and that I have someone as wonderful as you by my side, Rangiku."

Feeling eyes fall on her, Rangiku turned to face the man. Teal irises stared into her soul; they were focused, loving and despite the earlier anxiety, there was a level of calmness about them, like he knew he wanted to say the things he was saying, that this wasn't just nervous rambling.

"I love you, Rangiku," he told her firmly, "I want to live the rest of my life with you, if you'd have me."

"I love you too," Rangiku answered, a small smile forming, "and I want the same."

"You do?"

"Of course I do."

"Okay then," Toshiro said with some resolve, like that was all he needed to hear, "I guess there's nothing left to do but ask you now."

Rangiku felt her brain spark as it suddenly hit her with realisation as to what was about to happen, even before Toshiro sunk to his knee, pulling a dark ring box from his pocket. She stopped breathing when he opened it, revealing the most beautiful ring, complete with a blue-tinged diamond.

"Rangiku Matsumoto," Toshiro looked up at her, his voice calm but a slight tremor in his hands, "will you mar-"

"Yes."

…

 **The end!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this, Lethan and I had a ball writing it (even though it took us agesssss to finish it). We have another collab project coming out soon (soon by our standards anyway), and it's going to be a Toshiro x Rukia Winter Olympics AU! If you're a fan of that pairing or perhaps a little curious, check it out when we start posting (IT IS A LONGGGG STORY). If Hitsumatsu is still your preferred pairing, stand by because in a week or so I will be posting my new Hitsumatsu story 'The Heist' for this year's Bleach Big Bang!**

 **Love you all and thanks for your continued support xx**


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